Darkness In Our Midst
by SongOfStars
Summary: YEAR 1 of 7x:: The first year of school for Harry Potter's father & his friends. Four boys meet & form the Marauders though 3 of them begin to think their fourth friend is a Dark Creature.
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimers: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. Neither do I own Star Trek, the Archie Comic Books, the video games of Final Fantasy &/or Champions Of Norrath &/or Baulder's Gate.

**AN:** The beginning of Harry Potter's legacy starting from the summer just before year one of the MWPP & ending around the time of Halloween, 1981. I have also decided to write an extra story to cover between that date & the time 11 year old Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts.

_**The Legacy Of Harry Potter**_(aka_** "Legacy"**_) starts from Year 1 of the Marauders & ends at the beginning of J.K.Rowling's _**Harry Potter & The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone**_ It is a 7+ series, one for each year of the Marauders & to cover the gap between them & the first book/movie.

* * *

**Darkness In Our Midst**

**Summary:** The first year of school for Harry Potter's _father & his friends_. Four boys meet & form the Marauders; though 3 of them begin to think their fourth friend is a Dark Creature.

_**Year 1 of 7+**_

* * *

**(1) Promises & Moons**

It was late spring in England; or perhaps, it was early summer. The weather was humid, warmed by a south wind. The silence of the early afternoon was broken by a chirp of a bird here; a bark of a dog there. It was suddenly disturbed by a loud shriek followed by a splash in a lake behind two large houses separated by widespread green lawns, flanking the building's sides.

Laughter broke out while more splashing ensued as a midnight-haired ice-blue eyed little boy who seemed nearly 11, marched out of the lake & up its bank to another young boy, one with messy hair & glasses & who was laughing hysterically, leaning over with his hands on knees.

"James Potter!" the wet boy shrieked. "Don't do that again; throw me into freezing water! Do you want me to get sick & die or something?!" The messy-haired boy, called James Potter, only continued to laugh harder. "Have it your way, Potter." The wet boy went behind James & promptly shoved him into the lake.

"Siri –" James coughed. "Sirius!" He coughed two more times. "My glasses, you git."

Sirius merely pressed his hands back against his hair, wringing out the water. He shivered slightly. "Serves you right, I say."

"I don't care what you say," James felt around with his toes in the mud at the bottom of the lake. At last, he found his glasses & after much rinsing, managed to put them back on his face. "It's not that cold," James sent a wave to the shore making Sirius jump aside. James scoffed & pushed through the water to the shore.

He lay down on his stomach in the sand, warmed by the sun & stared at the houses behind him. His was house on the right side, white with pale blue trimmings & a flower garden running all around the outside. His friend's house, on the left was a large mansion, well kept, belonging to proud owners. It had black & gold on it but the inside, James had never seen.

Sirius didn't like his family much, though James could never figure out why. They had been neighbors & friends for a long time but there were still some things Sirius kept to himself. Soon, they would be going to a certain school, starting in the fall, a castle called 'Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft & Wizardry' for James & Sirius were no ordinary boys. They were pureblood young wizards who, over the course of the next seven years, would be learning to control their powers.

But there was one major difference between these two friends. James was from the Potter family who treated everyone equally, whether they were purebloods, muggle-borns (ones with magic & muggle ancestry), or muggles who were ordinary people who believed magic & werewolves & vampires & other such things only existed at the Disney studios.

Sirius however, was a Black & the Black family was a notorious pureblood people, descended from a long line. They looked down on anyone who was less than perfect, or in other words less then purest of purebloods, & often unkindly referred to such people as mudbloods. Neither did they agree or associate with other purebloods that befriended such "unworthy" people. They kept their line pure, marrying off their children to other powerful pureblood families such as the Malfoys, Lestranges, Snapes & Pettigrews. Amazing isn't it? If the longest branches on any of these family trees were traced, all these little families made up on big one in the long run. Perhaps on one of the bigger branches, maybe thousands of years ago, even the Potter family may appear, making Sirius & James many-times-great cousins. A very large family indeed!

Fortunately, Sirius himself had befriended James Potter at a very young age & his friend had a better influence on him. However, it made things bad for Sirius at his home. Even his younger brother, Regulus, didn't get along with him very well. Sirius sighed & flopped down beside James. He crossed his arms under his head & stared up at the sky, watching faint wisps of clouds chase themselves across the pale blue expanse.

"Jim?"

"Mmm!" James moaned sleepily. _Why talk now? I want to sleep now. He's like a baby, always wanting to bother you when you sleep._

"Jim!" Sirius sounded more desperate.

"What?" James groaned, pushing away the feeling of the warm sun pressing on his mind.

"We're going to Hogwarts in a few months."

_Merlin's sake! He bugged me for that._ "I know that, Siri."

"Well, we Blacks have always been in the Slytherin House," Sirius went on, ignoring his friend's mumble about a perfect daydream gone to waste. "I was wondering, well, there are four Houses you know," _(Please Merlin! Don't let him rattle off the names._ James silently begged.) "Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff & Gryfindor," _(Oh good grief!_ James groaned mentally.) "Well –are you listening?"

"Yes!" James sat up sharply. "The four Houses of Hogwarts. Go on?" _Please don't._

"Well, I'm going to end up in Slytherin like all the Blacks," Sirius went on anyway. "I just wanted to know, if you don't end up in the same House as I do, would we...still be friends?"

"Of course," James assured. "There's no law in Hogwarts saying that House members can't be friends with other House members. Not all Slytherins are that bad. Well, most are I guess, but you'll be fine."

"Ok," Sirius lay back down to stare at the sky.

"We'll always be friends," James went on. "& when we grow up–"

"Like that will ever happen," Sirius laughed.

"It will," James said. "I'm going to be Godfather of your kids & you're going to be Godfather of my kids & all our kids will be friends too & go to Hogwarts together."

"That sounds nice," Sirius laughed again. "Let's make it a promise. To take care of each other's kids."

"Sure," James agreed.

"We'll each have like five kids at least to drive each other crazy," Sirius teased.

James rolled around in the sand laughing. "Sure thing! Let's get inside, Mom is probably making supper now."

Sirius jumped up & raced to the Potter house. He often stayed with James for supper or any meal for that matter. It has been that way for about five years. "Hey Jim? Want to sleep outside this weekend like what we did last summer almost every weekend?"

"What is it with you & stars?" James grumbled. Sirius only pouted. "Fine, I'll ask. Mom? Can we sleep outside again this Sunday?"

"No, not this Sunday," Mrs. Potter said. "It's a Full Moon. You two want to get eaten? Why can you go outside tonight?"

"Too cool still," James shrugged.

"No, actually, I've got to go to some stupid party with my stupid family tomorrow," Sirius groaned.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad. You two sit down. I'll get your father," said Mrs. Potter as she hurried out of the kitchen & to the stairs of the basement. "Alex? Supper!"

"So what are we having tonight, Larissa?" Mr. Potter asked when he entered the kitchen. "Hello Sirius."

"Hello sir," Sirius smiled & then turned to his plate.

"Chicken salad among other things," Mrs. Potter quickly finished placing everything on the table.

"Sounds wonderful," Alex began helping himself. "So what are you boys up to?"

"Sirius wants to stare at the stars again," James teased, earning an eye-roll from Sirius. "But we can't do it this weekend."

"Full Moons only last one night," Alex said. "You two can wait one night."

"I wonder what it's like being a werewolf?" James mused.

"My Dad hunts them," Sirius said. "Once he almost got bitten but he killed the thing first. I hope I never get infected with Lycanthropy. It's supposed to hurt a lot."

"Well, it's not like we'll ever meet one, right?" James asked & Sirius nodded.

The future was unbeknown to James & Sirius at the time. They could not know that their names would become part of Prophecies & dark times ahead. They were simply two young inexperienced wizards about to enter Hogwarts for their 1st Year, along with others, two of which are Romulus & Remus Jonathan Lupin.

They were identical twin brothers from France, fluent in both French & English. Unlike the Potters & the Blacks, the Lupins were not pureblooded. Their mother, Helen, was a witch & their father was a muggle. When he found out his twin boys had inherited their mother's powers, he was quite proud of them; though, at times there were loud explosions in the boys' bedroom. Thank Merlin the boys didn't have wands yet!

Romulus had his circle of friends, which he tried to get his brother to join. Remus, however, had his own type of friends, books. Books! Books & oh my goodness gracious! More books! He was a regular at the library & was often found there, sitting in a corner, with his nose in---dare I say it?---another book.

In fact, Remus was currently reading a---well three guesses & the first two don't count! He was curled up in his favorite armchair in the library, reading a fascinating story about an ogre rescuing a princess from a dragon when he was what he considered to be rudely interrupted.

"_Sacré bleu!" _("Sacred blue!") Romulus groaned as he marched across to his look-alike brother. "_Lis-tu encore?_ ("You reading again?")

"Well the library only allows five books at a time to be taken out," Remus explained, pointing to his pile of five stories to read. "So I'm just reading this shorter one right here. I'm almost done."

"Well hurry up," Romulus sighed. "Mama wouldn't be pleased if you arrived late tonight. Sunday evening tea remember?"

"I know," Remus answered, turning another page of his---honestly, must the "B" word be written again? "I'll leave in a few minutes." Romulus gave up & headed for the door.

"I'm telling Mama you swore," Remus promised. Romulus just waved it off & disappeared through the door. Remus shook his head, letting sandy blond curls fall into his hazel brown eyes & returned to his reading.

He didn't notice the time, being too engrossed in those interesting pages. He did notice that it was getting harder to see & finally glanced out the window. It was nearly dark.

"Good grief!" Remus snapped the book shut, making a mental note of the page. He planned on coming back tomorrow to finish reading it. "I hate it when my brother's right." He threw his other five books into his bag & hurried out the door & down the street, tugging on a belt loop of his navy blue jeans, as they were a half-size too big. Remus liked jeans that way –more comfortable.

Remus ran down the lane, through the countryside. The Lupin Manor was not far out of the city, nestled in a hilly country surrounded by quiet woods & a river running behind the house & through the woods. The road winded around in the open countryside lit up pleasantly by a Full Moon but Remus didn't bother with the road. He knew a shortcut through the woods. It would cut his time in half. He didn't worry about the Full Moon. He thought that since the little woods were near a well-populated area they would be completely empty & safe. In daylight, one could see through the trees to the opposite side. It beat the winding road any day.

But the trees hid their inhabitants at night. No wild animals were here but werewolves weren't exactly animals. They were humans with a dreaded disease. A soft growl. Silence. Then another growl, this time closer, then more silence. Remus stopped walking. _Doit être un chien errant. (Must be a stray dog.)_ He heard the bushes rustle & saw a dark shape moving toward him before disappearing. Just to feel safer, Remus pulled out a small knife he had forgotten to return to the cafe beside the library. He hurried on his way, anxious to get out of that place.

Suddenly, a strong force slammed into him from behind, knocking him to the ground. He heard the dog growl again & felt something sinking into his leg. Two smaller dogs attacked him from the side. One dragged its claws across his face while the other bit into his arm. Remus jammed the knife into the heart of the dog biting his leg. It whimpered & crawled along the ground before dying. Seeing their leader fall, the other two fled.

Remus stumbled over to his book-bag & fell down beside it. He felt as if his blood was on fire & his jaws had pain piercing through them. Not knowing what was happening, he felt rather dizzy & soon passed out.


	2. Denial & Acceptance

**(2) Denial & Acceptance**

Remus moaned & sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. It was early dawn & he found himself outside at the edge of the woods with his books sprawled out beside him. He also noticed his face & leg were sore. To his far left lay a man not much older then his own father. Remus slowly stood up & limped over.

He tried talking to the man lying face down in the gravel path but received no answer. Remus wanted to get out of there before the dogs came back but he didn't want to leave this poor bloke alone outside with dangerous animals around. Remus slowly pushed the man over. What he saw nearly made his heart stop. There was a small knife in his chest; a knife with the words "Chocola Cafe" written on its shiny black handle. Remus stared at it. He was sure he had stabbed a big dog, not a person. _Ou peut-être j'ai poignardé le chien ensuite le chien l'a attaqué aussi?__ (Or perhaps I stabbed the dog & the dog attacked him too?)_ Remus wasn't sure if that made any sense as he pulled out the man's wallet & opened it.

It had a few cards in it, one with a name 'Richard Illian' written on it. Underneath was written _'Sara Illian, cinq ans et Jack Illian huit ans _('Sara Illian, age 5 & Jack Illian, age 8')under which was written _'Lycans, hôpital de lune'_('Lycans of Moon Hospital').

Remus blinked. "Moon Hospital? Never heard of it." It took a moment for the first word to sink in. "Wait, did it say Lycans?" Remus read & re-read the line several times. He tossed the wallet to the ground & pushed back the man's upper lip, exposing a fang. Remus stared a long time at it, putting everything together. He had stabbed a dog but here lay a man who apparently had two children. Puppies? Remus knelt down & buried his face in his hands. _"Non, c'est pas vrai. Telles choses n'arrives pas!"_("No it isn't true. This can't be happening!") Remus wanted to sob his heart out but thought better of it. He limped back to his bag, grabbed the books & began to make his way home. Almost as an afterthought, Remus went back a few steps & pulled out the knife of "Chocola Cafe."

Remus made it home & entered through the back door. He hurried up the stairs as fast as his wounded leg would let him, being careful not to make a sound. He planned to sneak into bed before his brother woke up but first he stopped at the bathroom. Remus washed off the three cuts across his face until they appeared as pink lines. He then looked at the bite in his leg. It wasn't that big, only four round holes that looked like a number four on a die, but the holes ran deep. Remus wrapped them up with a bandage under the sink.

"Remus? Are you in there?"

Remus dropped the roll to the floor & pounced on the lock. "Yes, Rom. Go away! I'm busy if you don't mind."

"Where were you yesterday?" Romulus demanded through the door.

"No where," Remus groaned, attempting to untangle the bandage that had strewn itself across the floor.

"Well, you certainly weren't here!" Romulus snapped. "Mama & Papa are so mad! You're going to be grounded for the rest of your life."

"Good thing I've got a twin brother to bail me out every other day or so then," Remus retorted as he tied the bandage in place.

"That's not funny!" Romulus groaned crossing his arms.

"If you must know," Remus sighed. "I had a little accident. I tripped over my books & fell in the gravel. It gave me a few scars on my face & my leg hurts but I'm fine." Remus pulled his pant leg back down over his wrapped wound & opened the door. "That's why I didn't show up for tea last evening. I went straight to sleep." Remus decided not to mention the dogs just yet. He wanted time to figure this out for himself first.

"We share the same room, Remus."

"I didn't say I went to our bedroom did I?" Remus pointed out. "Anyhow, I don't want to talk of it anymore. I've got some books to read & a good talking to from Mama to listen to."

"Remus, you call that a little accident?" Romulus scoffed. "Those three thick pink lines on your face don't exactly blend in."

"It'll heal," Remus shrugged. "I'm fine, so long as I'm careful how I walk & I keep nipping myself for some stupid reason."

"Well, quit putting your teeth where your lips go," Romulus teased. "Now get downstairs. Mama's waiting."

"Are you bossing me?" Remus half-laughed.

"I am your older brother," Romulus answered.

"Only by two minutes."

"Still, it makes me older," Romulus grinned.

"Yeah, so you'll die first," Remus laughed.

"Why you little –"

"Little only by two minutes!"

"Remus!"

"Romulus!"

"_Dis-donc, là-haut descendez tout de suite!"_ ("You boys get down here right now!") Mrs. Lupin ordered.

"Mama," Remus whined from the top of the stairs. _"Rom, me taquine encore!"_ ("Rom's bugging me again!")

"Mama," Romulus whined from the top of the stairs. _"Remus dit que je vais mourrir avant lui parce que je suis plus âgé!" _("Remus says I'll die first because I'm older!")

"Two minutes only!" Remus fumed. "_O, __j'ai__presqu'oublié__. Romulus a __sacré__ après moi hier. C'est une autre raison pour laquelle je ne suis pas venu." _("Oh yeah, almost forgot. Romulus swore at me yesterday. That's another reason why I didn't show up.") He smirked happily as his brother glowered.

"_Svp, pas l'argument des deux minutes encore une fois!" _("Please, not the two-minute-argument again!") Mrs. Lupin pleaded from the kitchen. _Presque tous les jours, ils commencent avec 'qui est le plus vieux.' (__Every day almost, they start on who's oldest.) _She sighed before yelling_, "Venez ici, immédiatment!" _("Come here immediatly!")

"_Je serai là dans une minute,"_ ("I'll be down in a minute,") Romulus answered as he marched after his brother who had entered their bedroom. Remus hurried to his side of the room & flopped down on his bed. _"Que fais-tu?"_ ("What are you doing?")

"_Je dois ranger ces livres,"_ ("I just need to put these books away,") Remus dumped out his bag onto his bed. _"Descends. Je serai là sous peu."_ ("Just go downstairs. I'll be there shortly.")

"_Ouais, c'est ce que t'a dis hier soir dans la bibliothèque_," ("Yeah, that's what you said last night in the library,") Romulus laughed making Remus roll his eyes. _"__Je reste ici. Comme ça je suis certain que tu ne commenceras pas à lire autres choses!"_("I'm staying right here until I'm sure you won't start reading anything!")

"_M__ama a besoin de l'aide avec le petit déjeuner"_ ("Mama needs help with breakfast,") Remus said. _"Descends.__"_ ("Go downstairs.")

"_Nous descendons ensemble."_ ("We're going down together.")

"Romulus & Remus?" Helen hollered from the kitchen_. "Venez-vous, vous deux?" _ ("Are you two coming?") She sighed after hearing no response. _"Très bien - aux grands maux, les grands remèdes_, ("Ok, summoning them the hard way, it is.") _Accio_," She encanted. "Romulus & Remus Jonathan Lupin!"

The two boys suddenly felt themselves being pulled along. Romulus dug his nails into the doorframe in a vain attempt to shrug off the spell but he scraped on by, leaving marks. _"Uh-oh! Pas encore!"_ ("Uh-oh! Not again!") Romulus & Remus yelped as they went sailing through the house towards the kitchen.

Helen waited intently for her sons' arrival while listening to Jonathan finishing up a conversation with a muggle investigator, Archer, about the night before. _"Eh bien, Jon, je crois que c'est tout, pour le moment __."_ ("Well Jon, I guess that's about it here.")

Jonathan nodded. "_Je ne peux à peine croire que l'hôpital de lune a eu trois évadés la nuit dernière. J'espère que personne fut blessé__"_ ("I can't believe Moon Hospital had three escapees last night. I hope no one got hurt?")

"_Apparemment, l'homme plus âgé a été poignardé avec un couteau,"_ ("Well the older man apparently was stabbed with a knife," Archer said before dropping his voice to a whisper. "_J'entend dire que des gens un peu estranges habitent a cet hôpital de lune__." _("I heard that this Moon Hospital was home to some weird people.")

"_Ouais, des gens un peu… bizarre."_("Yeah, just some...crazy people.") Jonathan agreed, trying not to mention the disease. Two yelping boys interrupted them. The yelps got louder as their owners flew by & faded again into the kitchen.

"_Qu'est-ce que…?"_ ("What was that?") asked Archer.

"_O c'est... juste mon épouse; elle appelle les gosses à sa main."_ ("Oh it's...just my wife calling the kids to her hand.") Jonathan smiled softly.

"_O,"_ ("Oh,") Archer said stupidly. "_Étrange... Eh bien, à tout à l'heure!"_("Weird… Anyway, see you later.")

"_Quand j'appelle,"_ ("When I call,") Helen's hands each landed on Romulus & Remus who looked up & gulped. "_Je m'attends à une réponse ! Mettez maintenant la table pour le petit déjeuner. Remus ? Nous aurons un petit entretien ensuite."_ (" I expect an answer! Now set the table for breakfast. Remus? You & I are going to have a little talk after.")

"_Oui, Madam_," ("Yes, Ma'am.") Remus pulled out the plates.

"_Qu'est-c__e qui est arrivé à ton visage?"_ ("What happened to your face?") Mrs. Lupin noticed the three lines.

"_J'ai_ _tombé dans le gravier,"_ ("Fell in the gravel,") Remus shrugged. It was partly true, though he failed to mention that a dog pushed him into the gravel. "_Je suis bien."_ ("I'm alright.")

"_Très bien,chéri,"_ ("Ok dear,") Mrs. Lupin petted back a loose wisp of blond. _"Est-ce que tu l'a nettoyé avec de l'eau et du savon__?"_("Did you clean it up with soap & water?")

"_Oui, Madam_," ("Yes, Ma'am.")

"_Bon. Je l'examinerai de plus près après le petit déjeuner_ ." ("Good. I'll take a closer look after breakfast.")

"_Il s'est blessé-"_ ("He hurt his-") Romulus was silenced by Remus's hand over his mouth.

"_Shh__, idiot!"_ ("Shh, idiot,") Remus whispered. "_Je veux lui dire plus tard._ ("I want to tell her later.")

"_Jon! __Petit déjeuner!_ ("Jon! Breakfast!") Helen called.

The four of them sat down to breakfast & the conversation turned to Moon Hospital. Remus listened silently with a sinking heart. Was he really infected with that dreadful disease? Remus toyed with his fork, not eating much. It was fortunate it wasn't silverware. Silverware was only used when guests arrived or on special occasions such as Christmas or birthdays. In fact, the twins' 11th birthday was coming up in three weeks.

A fork jabbing his arm brought Remus back to reality. _"Ca va?"_ ("Are you alright?") Romulus whispered.

"_En fait, Je ne suis pas sûr,"_ ("Actually, I'm not sure,") Remus shrugged. _"Je ne me sens pas très bien, tout d'un coup." _("I'm not feeling very well all of a sudden.")

"_T'es vraiment bizarre,"_ ("You are a strange one,") Romulus sighed.

Remus rolled his eyes & excused himself from the table. He tried not to limp much as he exited the kitchen & went upstairs. Remus sat on his bed fiddling with the knot in the bandage, playing over in his mind the conversation downstairs. _Est-ce que je suis vraiment un loup-garou maintenant? ( Am I really a werewolf now?)_ Remus suddenly grabbed the library books, hurried back downstairs & out the back door. He rolled the bike he & his brother shared out of the shed & returned to the library.

First, he slipped into 'Chocola Cafe' to return the knife. Remus put a hand in his pocket to get it & recoiled with a soft yelp. He had touched the blade instead of the handle; however, instead of a cut, a small blister formed. "_Étrange_…" ("Weird…") Remus shrugged it off & grabbed the handle. He laid it on the table when no one was looking & left for the library. He spent the next couple of hours scanning through any books with werewolves in them. There wasn't much & the lot of it was superstitious nonsense. He needed a medical book.

"_Je savais bien que tu serais ici_," ("I knew you'd be here,") Romulus was suddenly standing beside him. Remus fought desperately to hold the growl in his throat. "_Le Loup-garou et la princesse par Jacques Cortes? Remus, pourquoi lis-tu ce genre de chose?"_ ("The Werewolf & The Princess by Jacques Cortes? Remus, why do you read this stuff?")

"_Je ne le lisais pas," _("I wasn't reading it,") Remus hissed. "_Je lisais le nom, c'est tout."_ ("I was just looking at the name.")

"_Je vois," _("I see,") Romulus placed the book on the shelf. "_Viens, Papa a déjà mis le vélo dans le camion. Il revient tout juste de hôpital de lune."_ ("Come on, Papa has already put the bike in the back of the truck. He just got back from Moon Hospital.")

"_Bien! Bien,"_ (Alright! Alright,") Remus sighed. He clamored into the truck beside his brother & allowed himself to be taken home. It wasn't for another two weeks before he got his hands on a book on werewolves. But whatever was in it didn't make him happy.

_Werewolves are supposedly one of the most vile and dangerous beasts known. Their lust for blood makes them kill first if they weren't killed during the initial attack or disposed of later on. Werewolves were at their most dangerous on Full Moons as their strength is at the maximum. Though werewolves looked human most of the time, they were considered brutal beasts. The only good werewolf is a dead one._

Remus half-slammed that book back onto its shelf. "If werewolves are so bad, then why have a hospital for them?" he asked himself rhetorically. He decided to forget that book. It was from the library after all & therefore based on muggle assumptions & fairytales. He failed to remember that most muggle myths actually came from old legends.

Remus didn't want to be bothered with that now. He had a birthday coming up & he had two things to look forward to, a letter from Hogwarts & checking himself in the mirror. He hadn't actually looked at his teeth since three weeks ago, worried to find what he hoped wasn't there. He could feel something was different whenever his tongue passed his teeth but he decided that on his birthday all this foolish nonsense would end! Still, Remus needed to find an explanation as to why he was having problems with the silver sickles that were coins of the wizarding money his mother gave him. There were 29 knuts to a sickle & 17 sickles to a galleon, which was similar to a muggle dollar. This was for spending at 'Sonnets Square,' a place similar to Diagon Alley but more romantically named by the Frenchmen.

Remus stepped into the dining room where the birthday dinner was set up. He & Romulus had invited a few friends over & it was nearly time to eat. Remus picked up a napkin & grabbed the silverware at his place replacing it with the normal everyday stainless steel ones. He hoped no one would notice for he was getting tired of being zapped whenever he touched silver. He had a few small blisters on his fingers from previous encounters & he didn't want any more.

Besides encountering silver, Remus had another problem. He felt increasing urges to eat meat. He couldn't understand why for the Lupins were vegetarian & he had never given meat a second glance; or a first one for that matter.

In spite of everything, both boys had a fairly nice birthday & no one noticed that Remus wasn't using silverware at dinner. Their letters came in, inviting to Hogwarts & listing their books for the school year, which could be bought at Diagon Alley or Sonnets Square. Romulus & Remus were running around the living room laughing at each other.

"_Je vais à Hogwarts et je te surpassera dans tous les sujets."_ ("I'm going to Hogwarts & I'm gonna be better then you in all the subjects.")

"_Ha! Bonne chance. Je ferai mieux simplement parce que je lis plus!" _("Fat chance! I'll be better simply because I read more.")

"_Et alors?_ ("So what?") Romulus grumbled.

"_Très b__ien, vous deux,"_ ("Alright you two,") Mrs. Lupin hushed them. "_C'est l'h__eure du coucher."_ ("Bedtime.")

"_Aww, Papa, faut-il vraiment?"_ ("Aww, Papa, do we have to?") they both whined at the same time.

"_Ah, vous pouvez lambiner autant que vous voulez,"_("Oh, you can stay up,") Mr. Lupin said making his wife stare. _"Maman et moi allons simplement échangé des petits mots doux__."_ ("We're just going to be sitting around telling each other how much we love each other.")

"Ew!" Romulus yelped fleeing for the stairs hearing his mother laugh behind him.

"_Bonne nuit!_ ("Good night!") Remus hurried after his brother. He waited for his brother to finish in the bathroom & then locked the door behind him. He needed to know right now. Remus sighed & stared into the mirror. For the first time, he noticed his eyes were different slightly, still hazel but softly speckled with amber. "_O! C'est arrivé quand, ça__?"_ ("Wow! When did that happen?") He leaned in closer, admiring his new eye-color.

_Vous m'ignorez toujours. (You're still ignoring me.)_

"_Pardon?"_ ("What?") Remus jumped off the floor slightly. "_Où et qui êtes-vous?"_ ("Where & who are you?")

_Où? Je suis dans ta tête . Qui? Tu devrais le savoir mais tu n'a pas encore accepté ma presence. (Where? I'm within you. Who? You should know but you have yet to acknowledge my presence.)_

"_Montrez-vous!"_ ("Show yourself!") Remus ordered.

_Je le ferai, la semaine prochaine, À la pleine lune. (I will, next week, Full Moon.)_

Remus gasped & shook his head as if trying to rid himself of the voice. It seemed to be gone for now, so he tried to ignor the panic slowly building within him & stared into the mirror again. He pushed back his lips & there they were. "Oh, Ok! Ok," Remus gasped, jumping back from the mirror. _"C'est juste…juste un gros problème dentaire. C'est tout! N'est-ce pas?"_ ("It's just...just a major dental problem. That's all! Right?")

_Pas du tout. Je te les ai donnés. (Wrong. I gave them to you.)_

"_Laissez-moi tranquille!"_ ("Leave me alone!") Remus cried.

_Très bien. Pour un bout de temps. Nous nous verrons à la pleine lune. (Very well. I will for a while. See you on Full Moon.)_

"_C'est pas possible que cela m'arrive."_ ("This can't be happening to me.") Remus yanked opened the door & marched into his bedroom. He got into bed & pulled the cover over his head. His mumble of "_Bonne nuit Rom,"_ ("Goodnight Rom,") was barely audible & Remus spent most of the night awake, waiting to see if that voice would haunt him again.

Remus didn't hear it again that night & it didn't return for the next few days. He actually managed to forget about it for a while. The end of the week was upon him before he knew it & the Full Moon was that night.

Remus picked up a book his father had brought in earlier that week. It belonged to Moon Hospital for Jonathan Lupin was helping with the investigation of the three loose werewolves. The puppies had been found & returned but there was still the matter of the death of their father & who he had attacked.

Remus stretched out lazily on the couch & began reading. The more he read, the less he wished he had found this book for it described his problems perfectly.

_Lycanthropy is a branch of Schizophrenia with only one voice being heard instead of many; the voice of the inner wolf._

Remus was suddenly reminded of the little conversation he had on his birthday in the bathroom. "Great! I'm a psycho now?"

_Lycanthropes, commonly called werewolves, are extremely allergic to sil–_

Remus slammed the book shut. "_Impossible. Je ne peut pas être un loup-garoup!_" ("Not happening. I can't be!") Some inner instinct told him to continue reading.

_Considered inhuman by many, Lycans are actually humans with a dreadful disease. However, they can live near normal lives the majority of the time, though the Full Moon nights are cause for concern._

Remus's eyes wandered to the calendar on the wall. _"Ce soir? Svp, c'est trops tôt!"_ (Tonight? Not yet, please!") He flipped through the pages to find anything on the transformations at Full Moon. Finding what he was looking for, Remus continued reading.

_The light of the moon is a constant pain for the Lycan, be it Full Moon or not, so they wisely avoid it where possible. The Full Moon, however, brings about the transformation from human to wolf. This metamorphosis is considered to be the most painful affliction anyone could go through. It happens twice a month, once at moonrise; or if the Lycan has not seen the moon when it has risen then it would be at midnight, & once again at moonset when the wolf is weakened & the human can take control once more._

Remus suddenly felt very scared of the oncoming evening. He scanned the index for one thing that would get him out of this but all he found was:

_There is no known cure for Lycanthropy. We, at Moon Hospital, try our best to ensure Lycans feel as comfortable as possible before & after each Full Moon._

"_R.J.? Mets la table! Ton père et ton frère arrivent bientôt."_ ("R.J.? Come set the table! Your father & brother will be home soon." Mrs. Lupin sang out from the kitchen.

Remus was so startled by her voice that he dropped the book. Rolling his eyes at being called R.J., he picked it up & it automatically opened to a new place. He read a few more lines.

_Lycans share a symbiotic relationship with their wolfish alter ego. The infected cells form a mass of lupine enzymes situated just below the ribcage. This symbiont cannot be removed for it shall die without a human host; nor can the human survive without his or her wolf symbiont. This is why it is impossible to cure them._

"_Ah, c'est dégueulasse ,"_ ("Oh, that's just peachy,") Remus tossed the book on the table & unwillingly pushed his hands under his ribs. He felt a small hard mass & heard a half-angry voice.

_Arrêtes! Je n'aime pas cette sensation de compression. (Stop it! I don't like that compressing feeling.)_

"_Désolé!"_ ("Sorry!) Remus snapped & headed for the kitchen, dreading what he had to do next.

"_Ah! Remus, chéri. Te voilà." _("Ah! Remus, honey. There you are.") Mrs. Lupin handed him a pile of plates for the table. Remus placed the pile on the counter & glanced around. He was actually quite hungry, just not for this particular supper. "_Dépêches-toi, R.J.. Il est presque nuit."_ ("Hurry up R.J.. It's nearly dark.") Mrs. Lupin began bustling about with last minute preparations.

"_Je sais,"_ ("I know,") Remus whispered. "_Mama? Il faut que nous parlions."_ ("Mama? We need to talk.")

"_Après diner, R.J.,"_ ("After supper R.J.,") Mrs. Lupin said, distractedly. _"__Rom et votre père vont être de retour de ville n'importe quelle minute."_ ("Rom & your father are going to be back from town any minute.")

"_Je dois vous parler tout de suite, avant..."_ ("I need to talk now before the...") Remus stared at the floor. "_Avant la pleine lune." _("Before the Full Moon rises.")

"_Que dis-tu? La pleine Lune?"_ ("What's that? Full Moon?") Mrs. Lupin paused to look at her 'younger' son. "_Remus, ne t'en fais pas à ce sujet. Ils seront à la maison avant qu'elle ce lève. Ils ont a peu près quinze minutes._" ("Remus, don't worry about it. They'll be home before it rises. It's still about fifteen minutes away.")

"_J'ai menti, Maman!"_ ("I lied, Mama!") Remus confessed. _"__À vous et à moi. Ces marques sur mon visage ne sont pas venues du gravier, elles sont venues d'un chiot! J'ai poignardé leur père ; que-que...! Oh Mama! Je dois vous quitter maintenant avant que je change. Je ne voulais pas le croir,e mais... Papa a rapporté un livre de cet hôpital. J'ai lu toute la journée et il décrit mon état parfaitement."_ ("To you & to myself. These marks on my face didn't come from gravel, they came from a puppy! I stabbed their father; that—that…! Oh Mama! I've got to leave you now before I change. I didn't want to believe it, but…Papa brought back a book from that hospital. I've been reading it all day & it describes my condition perfectly.")

"_Qu'est-ce que tu dis?"_ ("What are you talking about?") asked Mrs. Lupin.

"_Je suis un...un...un loup-garou, Mama!"_ ("I'm a…a…a werewolf Mama!") Remus screamed at her. "_Je n'ai pas voulu le croire, mais maintenant je dois. C'est ma premierè pleine lune et -- et -- Oh! Pourquoi donc cela m'arrive à moi?!"_ ("I didn't want to believe it, but now I must. It's my first Full Moon &--&--oh! Why did it happen to me?!") He burst into tears & began sobbing uncontrollably.

"_Tu m'as souvent racconté des histories,"_ ("You've told many a tall tale,") Mrs. Lupin put her arms around him. "_Mais celle-ci les surpasse toutes."_ ("But this one surpasses all.")

"_C'est vrai!"_ ("It's true!") Remus looked up at her & bared his fangs.

"_Bon Merlin! Remus comment–"_ ("Good Merlin! Remus how–")

_"Je n'ai pas le temps maintenant!"_ ("I don't have time right now!") Remus interrupted. _"Je dois partir!"_ ("I've got to go!")

"_Mais Remus— attends!"_ ("But Remus—wait!")

Remus ignored her & ran outside into the backyard. He knew he had to get away from people before he could hurt anyone. Remus ran for the trees as the last ray of sun disappeared.

_Je te l'avais bien dit que je serais ici à la pleine lune.__ (Told you I'd be here on Full Moon.)_

"_La ferme!"_ ("Shut up!") Remus ordered glancing up at the sky & a Full Moon. There was no way to describe it. Pain spread through him like lightening as the wolf clawed its way to the surface. Remus screamed.

_"Hélène, c'est moi!"_ ("Helen, I'm home!") Jonathan hung his coat up. _"Helen? Helen où es-tu?" _("Helen? Helen where are... you?") He found her in the living room, curled up on the couch, crying. _"__ Qu'est-ce qui ce passe?"_ ("What's wrong?") he sat down beside her.

She leaned into his arms & whispered. _"C'est Remus."_ ("It's Remus.") She went on to tell him everything. After a moment of silence she asked, _"Où est Rom?"_ ("Where's Rom?")

_"Quoi... O! Il est avec des amis."_ ("Wha...Oh! He's with some friends.") Jonathan said in a dead tone. _"Pourquoi Remus? Qu'est-ce qu'il a fait?"_ ("Why Remus? What did he do?")

_"Je ne sais pas,"_ ("I don't know,") Helen sighed. _"Il est là en ce moment. J'espère qu'il se dirige vers la forêt."_ ("He's out there right now. I hope he headed for the forest.")

_"Remus est un garçon intelligent,"_ ("Remus is a smart boy,") Jonathan tried to reassure his wife. _"Il va s'en tirer."_ ("He'll be Ok.")

"_J'espères bien,"_ ("I hope so,") Helen said. _"Il doit être effrayé et en douleur. Je devrais être avec lui."_ ("He must be so scared & in pain. I need to be with him.")

_"Tu ne peux pas!"_ ("You can't!") Jonathan declared. _"Attendons à demain. "_ ("We'll talk to him tomorrow.")

_"Ouais... demain,"_ ("Yeah...tomorrow,") Helen fell silent.


	3. Losing Half

**(3) Losing Half**

Helen & Jonathan didn't sleep at all that night. How could they, when their youngest son was fighting himself under the worst curse anyone could have? Dawn seemed an eternity away. To make things worse, Remus was loose. Their only hope was that Remus had sense (& time) enough to run to the forest before he changed.

Remus did make it to the forest on time; though, his wolf was displeased about it. The wolf prowled through the forest, heading for town. Furious & packless, he clawed at himself, inflicting deep wounds in his sides, wounds that would leave marks on his human alter ego. The wolf stopped not at the pain. It wanted—needed—blood & there were no humans around to satisfy it.

The wolf neared the town as dawn approached. He tensed suddenly, sniffing the air. Something, or perhaps someone, was heading toward him. The wolf left off gnawing itself & began stalking through the bushes. Hurrying home in the pre-light of dawn was a young boy. The wolf however, did not care for the age of it's prey, neither did he care when the boy ran away from it; a chase was thrilling. The wolf didn't care when he pounced the scared boy & both fell over the bank into the river. He did care however, when water filled his nostrils & he had to let go his prey to gasp for air. Taking a breath, the wolf paddled down river, searching for his kill. He continued swimming through the river & into the morning's first rays of sun.

Remus pulled himself ashore, feeling very sore & half-drowned. He was not expecting to find himself in waist-deep water at dawn. He lay down in the sand & closed his eyes for a moment before immediately snapping them open. Images of someone kept appearing before his eyes. He shook it off, thinking it was a nightmare. Checking out his location, Remus realised he was about half a mile down river from his house near the place where he & his brother often went swimming in the summer.

His brother? Remus glanced at the water & everything of last night came flooding to him. There lay Romulus, near the water's edge. Remus ran to him, dread filling his heart.

"Please tell me I didn't do this!" Remus held his brother's face in his hands. "Rom? Romulus this isn't funny. Come on. Get up!" He shook his brother slightly, trying to wake him. "Come on, we've got to go home." Romulus however, lay still. Remus shook him harder. "Romulus? Romulus! No, Romulus please!" He waited for a reaction, any sign of life but there was none. Remus buried his face in his brother's chest & sobbed uncontrollably. He had done this. He had destroyed his brother. The book he first read was right. Werewolves were dangerous vile creatures. They were monsters. He curled up beside his brother, pulling Romulus's torn jacket over both of them. He knew he had to do something, but he was just to sore right now. Perhaps in a few minutes... Remus fell asleep as the sun climbed into the morning sky.

"_Peut-être nous devrions aller le chercher?"_ ("Perhaps we should go look for him?") worried Helen late in the morning & Remus still hadn't shown up. _"Il c'est peut-être perdu."_ ("Maybe he got lost out there.")

_"C'est pas nécessaire,"_ ("There's no need,") Jonathan pointed out the window into the back yard where Remus had just come into view.

Helen hurried out, snatched the boy up before he had time to breath & carried him inside. She began talking in a rushed voice & Remus couldn't get a word in edge-wise. _"Mon pauvre Remus! Qu'es__t-ce qui t'arrives?" _("Oh, Remus! You poor thing. How are you? What happened? Stay still, will you.") Helen tried to peel off Remus's shirt that by now looked like it belonged to a ragged street person. She gasped when she saw the cuts on him. _"Jonathan! Vite, la trousse de premiers soins__ …ah merci."_ ("Jonathan! Get me the First aid…ah thanks.") Jonathan was way ahead of her. _"À l'avenir, à la pleine lune, nous te garderons ici!" _("You won't been running around outside on such nights again!") Helen went on. "_Nous te garderons ici." _("We'll keep you here.")

_"Hélène, tu sais très bien que—"_("Helen, you know that's—") Jonathan began.

_"Contraint dans le sous-sol,"_ ("We'll put him in the basement,") Helen half-snapped. _"Nous avons un mois pour l'organiser avec un bon lit et une porte de sécurité."_ ("This month, we'll get it all set up with a bed & a strong locking door & Remus can stay there.")

_"Ça c'est une bonne idée,"_ ("That's actually a good idea,") said Jonathan, catching on to his wife's idea. _"Commençons tout de suite__. Où est mon porte-monnaie, oh, je l'ai donné à Romulus pour acheter des friandises. Attendons qu'il revienne."_ ("I'll get right on it. Where's my wallet—oh, I gave it to Romulus to buy some candy. I'll have to wait until he comes back.")

At the mention of his brother's name, Remus began stammering & stuttering but his mother shushed him. _"Vas t'étendre. Tu as l'air épuisé. Nous parlerons plus tard." _ ("You can talk later. Go to bed, Remus! You look exhausted.")

_"Mais—"_ ("But—")

_"Maintenant, Remus!"_ ("Now Remus!") Helen nodded to the stairs.

Remus obeyed silently. Maybe it was better he didn't tell them. Maybe it was better if they didn't really know what kind of monster he was. Maybe Romulus was just unconscious & there was no need to worry his parents. Or maybe it was as it was & Remus just wanted to crawl into a hole & die. Romulus had been no ordinary brother; he was a twin. Twins were often closer then common siblings, as if they were a part of each other. Half of Remus died last night & he knew it.

It was late in the evening when Remus finally awoke. He stumbled downstairs to find both his mother & father in the living room, talking to an old man with long hair & an even longer grey beard, both reaching just past his belt. His mother was crying softly. His father looked like he had been crying. Remus edged closer to the entrance but stayed in the hall to listen.

"I'm sorry for your loss," the old man was saying. "He would have made a fine student."

"I'm not anxious to tell Remus," Jonathan said. "We don't know who did it. Rom's friends said he left early to return my wallet before I go to work & they walked with him half-way to stay safe."

"And where is Remus now?" the old man asked.

"He's sleeping, actually," Jonathan answered. "He's not feeling well."

"Jon, we have to tell Albus," Helen declared. "It's only fair to the school."

_L'école?_ (_The school?)_ Remus wondered if the old man was from Hogwarts. Then an awful realization hit him. How could a dangerous creature ever go to a place full of available prey? Remus rushed into the living room. "Mama, what about school?"

"No worries, Mrs. Lupin," Dumbledore pulled Remus up to him. "Ah, you are a werewolf pup?" Remus could only stare. "All werewolves have softly amber eyes while in human form & deep golden ones while under a Full Moon." Dumbledore smiled softly banishing any fears Remus may have had. Dumbledore looked back at Helen. "This does cast a shadow on his upcoming education, however."

Remus whimpered softly & stared at the floor. "I can't go, can I?"

"I don't think your brother would have wanted you to stay home, sulking." Dumbledore said. "I need to make some arrangements to ensure the safety of everyone at the school. You may be only a puppy but you still need to be controlled on those nights. As a precaution, I will make arrangements for you to have your own place every month. I am quite sure you will be able to come to Hogwarts next month. For now, I must leave as your parents have some rather discomforting news for you."

Remus watched as Dumbledore exploded into emerald flames in the fireplace. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder & his father leading him to the couch. He listened in a daze as his parents explained that his brother was murdered earlier that morning & that no one knew who had done it. Of course, Remus already knew all this, but he remained silent. He couldn't bear to tell them right now but maybe in a few days. It wouldn't change anything if they knew or not. Remus thought back to where he had seen Romulus in the river. He had died before he became infected with Lycanthropy so there were no fangs to tell on him. For the moment, he was the only one that knew.

Remus dreaded the month ahead. It started with Romulus's funeral, after which his mother never let him out of her sight. She had lost one son & she couldn't afford to lose the other.

All of them kept themselves busy working on the basement suite that was to be Remus's den every Full Moon in summer. The walls were padded so he couldn't throw himself against them & hurt himself more. In the left wall, was a closet bed that could be pulled down out of the wall in the morning & left up in the wall during the night so the wolf couldn't shred it. Helen charmed the windows so no one could see in but one could look out at any time. The glass was also replaced with a stronger material so the wolf couldn't break out. Lastly, Jonathan changed the door to a three-inch thick steel door that he got from Moon Hospital.

"_Eh bien, Rem"_ ("Well, Rem,") said Jonathan once he was finished with the door hinges. _"Viens voir." _("Go take a look.") Remus hurried downstairs & glanced around.

_"Qu'en penses-tu?" _ ("How do you like it?") asked Helen as Remus jumped against the padded wall.

_"Ça rebondit,"_ ("It's bouncy,") Remus said, making his parents snicker. Remus spent an hour in the basement, examining everything, before going all the way upstairs to bed. He had rearranged the bedroom so that he was now on the left side of the room where his brother used to be & he had piled his brother's teddy bears onto his own pillow. He stretched out under the covers & lay awake for half the night. His second Full Moon was up in two days. In five days, he might be going to Hogwarts. Remus wondered what Dumbledore had in store for him.


	4. Getting Sorted

**(4) Getting Sorted**

"_Maintenant Remus,"_ ("Now Remus,") Jonathan tried to coax his son out of bed. _"Vous avez quelques achats à faire aujourd'hui à la Ruelle de Diagon."_ ("You've got some shopping to do today at Diagon Alley.")

Remus mumbled something about shopping being a woman's word & went back to sleep. He & his parents had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron via floo powder after his second Full Moon. Today was supposed to be spent in Diagon Alley, shopping for his school stuff. He didn't want to move, partly because he was still a little stiff, partly because he was like any little boy, scared to go off to a boarding school for most of the year. It was the first real time he'd been so far from home. He wasn't even in France anymore! To top that off, Remus was alone. He was supposed to be with his twin brother, but Romulus had died a little over a month ago, making quiet little Remus more quiet than ever.

Remus suddenly found himself in Diagon Alley. How he got there he wasn't quite sure. Something about daydreaming while getting dressed? His muggle father came too, though Jonathan stayed close to Helen, not quite sure what to expect. Remus got his First Year schoolbooks at Flourish & Botts & some smart black everyday school robes with gold trim. On his way out, he noticed a pair of black leather gloves in the window. They fit snuggly over his hands, James Bond style. He then proceeded to pick up something silver & didn't feel anything so, of course, he took them as well. No more silver burns.

"_Rem, il te faut que ta baguette magique."_ ("Rem, all you need is your wand,") Helen pointed him to Ollivander's.

"_Vous ne venez pas?"_ ("You're not coming?") Remus glanced around at the shop & then back to his mother.

"_Nous avons une petite surprise pour toi,"_ ("We've got a little surprise for you,") Jonathan said. _"Vas d'avant. Nous te verrons plus tard."_("You go ahead. We'll meet you later.")

Remus nodded silently & hurried off to Ollivander's Wands. He just got to the door when it burst open & a blacker-then-night haired boy came bouncing out & into Remus. Both went sprawling to the ground.

"Oof!"

"Ow!" yelped Remus.

"Sorry, didn't see you!" the black-haired boy got up & offered a hand for Remus. "I just beat my best friend, Jim, to getting my wand. Can't wait to show it off! See you later."

Remus watched as Sirius bounced away, clearly on way too much sugar, & stepped inside. A middle-aged man stepped off the ladder & smiled as he pulled out some of his wands. He spent the next hour destroying the wand shop until Ollivander was at his wits ends. He had tried all but one section of wands. Wands that had silver in them. Ollivander gave up & decided to try them.

Remus was handed a 12 inch long Mahogany wand. For a while, nothing happened. Then it began glowing in acceptance of its new master.

Ollivander stood up, hair askew, tie over his shoulder & smiled. "At last!" he gasped. "Though I am surprised that this type of wand would accept you for its master. Its core is made of unicorn hair. Silver unicorn hair…oh yes! I know." Ollivander went on as he saw Remus's eyes widen. "Albus told me to be careful with my silver-cored wands when you came here. You're a werewolf puppy? In that case, I am sure we may expect great things from you, considering you have mastered a silver-cored wand. But a word of warning, you cannot hide your Lycanthropy forever. Sooner or later, someone will know. It's only a matter of time. Now run along! Your parents are waiting."

Remus paid for his wand & hurried to a sight that nearly made his eyes pop out of his head! His father was holding up a cage in which sat a great black owl, slightly bigger then a Horned owl, with nearly black dark red talons covered with fluffy feathers, like a Snowy. At the end of each of its wing feathers was a line of the same dark red. _"Pour…moi?"_ ("For...me?") He gaped at it & reached in to stroke its head. The owl hooted shyly.

"Yes it's…er…it's—Helen?" Jonathan stammered, not quite getting the name of this breed of owl that only existed in the wizarding world.

"It's a Firefall Owl," Helen laughed. _"Ils dormant dans les flames et ont les retrouvent souvent dans les foyers."_ ("They sleep in the fire & are often found in fireplaces.")

"Wow!" Remus held his arm out & the owl hopped on. It looked up at him with big black eyes flecked with more dark red. _"Merci beaucoup. Je crois que je vais le nommer Nightstalker."_ ("Thanks. I think I'll call him Nightstalker.")

"_C'est un nom qui lui va bien."_ ("Fitting name,") Jonathan smiled.

"_Ils sont de l'espèce d'hiboux la plus puissante_."("They're one of the strongest owl breeds,") Helen explained. _"Ils peuvent livrer une letter à trés longue distance et en moins de temps que la plupart des autres hiboux. Disons - jusqu'en France."_ ("You can send letters very long distances in shorter time then it would take most owls. Say like France?") His mother hinted.

Early the next morning found the Lupins hurrying to platform 9 & ¾, the mother rattling off last minute instructions that she had already instructed five, ten & even fifteen minutes ago. "Rem, dear? Remember, avoid anyone with—"

"—with the name of Black, Malfoy or Snape!" Remus finished in a huff, somewhat in a bad mood. _Pourquoi les mères sont comme ça? _(_Why are mothers like this?)_ he groaned silently.

"Remus, they're—"

"—very bad families who always end up in Slytherin. Mama!" Remus whined. "Stop! You've said this a thous—no. A million times already, alright?"

"_Ne me parles pas sur ce ton, R.J.!"_ ("Mind your tone, R. J.!") Jonathan ordered.

"_Oui, Papa,"_ ("Yes, Papa,") Remus shrugged, deciding it was best not to mention how he hated being called R.J. With his parents close behind, he stepped through the barrier between muggle platforms 9 & 10 & landed on wizard platform 9 & ¾.

There stood the big red train, the Hogwart's Express. It tooted its horn, signaling five minutes left. Remus threw his trunk on board a car, hugged his parents one last time before grabbing his owl & getting on the train. He found an empty compartment & sat down by the window so he could wave as the train pulled out. Then he settled down on the seat & opened Nightstalker's door. The owl hopped out & stood on top of his cage & hooted softly. He began talking nonsense to it, as there was no one else around.

Without warning, the door flung open & that black-haired kid landed in his lap. Ice-blue eyes met amber-speckled hazel as the boy burst out laughing.

"Sorry again," Sirius sat up beside Remus. "It's all Jim's fault! Let's just close the door & maybe he'll go away."

"I'm not going anywhere Sirius Black," James stormed into the compartment as Remus gasped & scooted away from the Black family. "until you give back my journal!"

Sirius laughed harder. "Hey everybody!" he shrieked out the door. "Jim's got a diary!"

"No!" James clapped both hands over Sirius's mouth, hauled him back inside & slammed the door. "It's a journal! Not a diary. Big difference."

"Sure there is," Sirius teased & glanced at Remus. "So, what do you think? Is there a difference between a diary & a journal?"

"You're asking me?" Remus stared.

"No one else in here is th—_**YEEOUCH!**_" Sirius jumped forward & whirled around. Nightstalker hooted defiantly. "Sorry!" He grumbled sarcastically, rubbing his behind. "Anyway, I'm Sirius Black. This…thing," He pointed to the messy-haired boy beside him. "doesn't have a name. And you are?" He looked pointedly at Remus for an answer but James took this moment to redeem himself.

"I'm James Potter," He punched Sirius in the arm. "You git."

"I was referring to the owl."

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Not!"

"I'm Remus Jonathan Lupin," Remus cut in. "& my owl is Nightstalker."

"You seem to be alone," James said. "Mind if we join you?"

"Ok," Remus shrugged. He really didn't have much choice. Sirius had been thrown in; James barged in. Anyone else care to interrupt?

The door slid open once more. "Excuse me? Can I stay here? Everywhere else is full."

"Sure, why not?" Sirius invited.

"Thanks," The brown haired boy hurried in. He was a little plump but nothing to worry about. "I'm Peter by the way, Peter Pettigrew." The others introduced themselves once more as Peter sat down. He noticed the owl. "Cool! Is that a Firefall Owl?"

"Yeah, he's mine," Remus reached over & petted him. "His name's Nightstalker."

"Wow! I heard they're rare owls," Peter gaped. For most of the trip, three of the boys talked excitedly. Remus jumped in & out of the conversation periodically, preferring to pet his owl & read a bit of his schoolbooks. The four of them had become friends by the time they got off the train, though Remus stayed closer to Potter & Pettigrew & away from Black. It would take time to warm up to someone with a family name his mother warned him about.

"I wonder what moves those things?" Sirius pointed to horseless carriages.

"Black Pegasuses," Remus stepped up to a Thestral & petted its nose. It snorted softly, acknowledging a fellow dark creature. "Can't you see him?" Remus glanced back to see his three friends gaping at him.

"Remus, I think we need to get you to the hospital," Peter half-laughed nervously.

"Petting air, are you?" Sirius laughed, heading to a giant man calling the first years together to get on canoes.

"Honestly Sirius," James hurried after him. "It's not funny. If Remus likes air, then leave him be."

"I'm telling you," Remus groaned stepping in a canoe. "They're black Pegasuses. They've got bat-like wings & a dragon-like head with yellow eyes. You honestly can't see them? Perhaps you need an eye exam."

"Perhaps you've got a big imagination," Sirius informed with an important attitude. Remus just rolled his eyes.

James pushed Sirius over halfway across the lake, forcing him to dog paddle the rest of the way. They soon reached the castle & the first years were lead inside to the doors of the Great Hall, Sirius dripping wet & fuming. The big doors opened & they all stepped inside & headed for the front.

Sirius forgot his dampness for a while & watched as the big door to the Great Hall began to open. Light from thousands of floating candles flooded through the doors to reveal a large room with four long House tables full of food & other students. The feeling was exhilarating as Sirius stepped forward, followed by James, Peter & Remus.

Remus looked up at the ceiling for a moment & noticed it was bewitched to look like the night sky. The candles floated underneath it. After everyone had taken their places, the sorting began.

Peter Pettigrew was the fifth person to be called. The Sorting Hat, which magically divided the first years into appropriate Houses, sat on his head for only a minute before calling "Gryfindor!" Peter hopped off & hurried to the table, where all the Gryfindors were clapping.

Severus Snape was next. He went to Slytherin. Sirius stared at the floor, avoiding the Slytherin table as much as possible before he had to go there. He didn't want to end up in Slytherin but all the Blacks ended up in Slytherin.

James was next. The hat sat on his head, thinking for a long time. After five minutes it yelled "Gryfindor!" & James Potter ran to the proper table. He sat down & watched Sirius hopefully as he was next.

Sirius closed his eyes in concentration. "Not Slytherin. Please not Slytherin," he whispered over & over.

"Are you sure?" asked the Sorting Hat. "You don't want to be with your family?"

"I hate my family," Sirius whispered on. "They're all Dark wizards & witches. Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin!"

"You'd be great in Slytherin; but very well. Gryfindor!"

Sirius sighed in relief & ran to James side. Remus soon joined them. The four boys were reunited under one House & began chatting excitedly, even Remus.

"You're finished Sirius," a young witch stood up from the Slytherin table. "Aunt Anastasia & Uncle Orion will kill you when they hear about you being in Gryfindor!"

"Stuff it, Bellatrix," Sirius snapped. "At least I don't have to listen to you!"

"Who's that?" asked Remus.

"My cousin," Sirius fumed. "She's a year older than me. Just ignor her."

"I'm glad you made it to Gryfindor," James said.

"So am I. That was a surprise," Sirius agreed. "Nothing & no body would ever come between us again."

"Got that right," James clapped his hand against Sirius's hand.

"Lily Evans!" called the man at the front who was holding the Sorting Hat. James's heart slammed the ceiling of heaven.


	5. I'm In Love! Mmmm, Now I'm A Believer!

**(5) I'm In Love! Mmm, Now I'm A Believer!**

James rested his face on his left hand & goggled the Evans girl with flaming red hair that fell around her shoulders. She had bright green eyes that reminded him of emeralds. James shifted his face to his other hand with a dreamy sigh.

No one noticed him however, for Remus was showing Sirius a simple drying & warming charm so he wouldn't catch cold from being thrown in the lake & Peter had charmed his fork to tap-dance across his plate making Remus & Sirius giggle like girls.

James sighed again, "Please put her in Gryfindor...please...please..."

"What on Earth are you babbling about Jim...Jim?" Sirius waved his hand in front of his friend's face, breaking a good line of view to the girl. "Ohhh JII-iiimm? James!"

"What's with him?" Peter stared at James.

Remus followed James direction of where he was looking & noticed a redheaded girl sitting under the Sorting Hat. "Her." he said simply with a wave of his hand in the general direction. Sirius & Peter saw 'her' & their lips formed two big 'Oh's.' when they realised what had captured James's attention & heart.

"Gryfindor!"

"Yes! Ohhh…um…sorry," James smiled sheepishly at his three friends. "It's nothing. Never mind." He watched Lily Evans hurry to Gryfindor Table…his table…& sit down with some other first year girls, though her bright red hair made her an easy target amongst the ordinary blacks, blondes & brunettes.

Throughout most of the school's beginning feast, James stole a glance at her whenever he could. She was just so beautiful! And her smile, the way she laughed with those other girls. For one brief moment, Lily just happened to look in James direction & their eyes met. James quickly stared at something interesting in his plate, blushing, never forgetting those two beautiful emeralds that had seen him. He could hear Remus & Peter snickering.

Sirius, meanwhile, had watched these proceedings sulkingly. Hadn't he just said that nothing & no one would come between them & James had agreed? Who was this… this hooligan of a damsel, waltzing in & stealing his long time friend? Sirius glowered at the girl, feeling somewhat jealous. James had been his only friend & source of better times away from his family. What if this girl made James forget about him? Sirius turned to his schedule sheet that had been placed under each & every student's plate & concentrated on it.

_Your chosen classes for the following year: _

_Charms---Professor Hannah Adelhide  
Defense Against Dark Arts (DADA)---Professor Edward Johnson  
Potions---Professor Jherek Snape  
Transfigurations---Professor Albus Dumbledore   
Divination---Professor Derek Clarkson  
Ancient Runes---Professor Sara Ferns  
Herbology---Professor Rosalind Chao   
Care Of Magical Creatures---Professor Rohan Shepherd _

_signed: Headmaster Dippet_

Sirius sighed & laid down the sheet. Another glance in James direction told him that his friend was still swooning. Remus & Peter distracted Sirius for a moment as they compared sheets. They shared the same classes though Remus also had Muggle History with Professor Anne Sands.

The first years were led to their according towers. The Gryfindors heard some high-pitched scream & a lady saying, "My voice is so amazing!" Some of the Gryfindor students screwed their faces up in disgust while the first years glanced at each other in confusion. They would soon find out that their House Gate, the Fat Lady's portrait, considered herself a singer. "Try 'Screecher'," Sirius muttered under breath as their Prefect gave the password "Moonbeam" to let the new arrivals in. Remus flinched slightly at the password but recovered quickly.

Sirius, Peter & Remus stretched themselves out on the large comfy sofa in front of the fire. Remus noticed a large black mass sitting on the burning logs. The black object hooted softly once in a while. James hung out in the entrance of the common room, making Sirius roll his eyes. Lily Evans & her friends came through in a mass of giggling little girls. James focused on Lily but whenever she so much as turned a hand in his direction, he'd blush & turn away before she would notice. Sirius groaned & stood up, announcing he was tired & hurried up the stairs to the boys' dorm.

The next day was spent running around, trying to make it to each class on time. Being a first year was never easy. It got worse when James & Sirius began fighting over which direction to go to Divination.

"I'm telling you," James groaned. "It's that way."

"No," Sirius retorted. "It's this way!"

"Actually," Remus returned to the group after reading a map off the wall. "It's three flights up, that way, then left, right, left, left & then a large flight of twisting stairs all the way up to the tower."

"Huh?" Peter, Sirius & James could only stare.

"Urgh! Come on," Remus ordered, marching in the proper direction. "We're already ten minutes late thanks to you!"

They arrived five minutes later & the rest of the hour was spent listening to James predict what he saw in his Crystal Ball. Lily Evans, Lily Evans & oh, get this; Lily Evans! Peter started to fall asleep while Remus stifled a laugh & Sirius sulked. Professor Clarkson was not amused & said that James needed to focus. James answered smartly, "I am focusing. I'm focusing on Lily Evans." James earned the first detention of the developing Marauders while at the same time, embarrassing poor Lily Evans to the utmost now that the stupid git called James Potter had professed his love for her in front of the whole class.

"Get a grip," Sirius fumed while on their way to Care Of Magical Creatures. "One, you never even spoke to that girl first. She looked pretty embarrassed. You ought to be ashamed of yourself! Two, we're only 11 years old. Three, I thought we were not going to let anyone come between us?" Sirius stalked off ahead without waiting for an answer leaving James to stare at him in disbelief.

The four of them sat down in some hay at the stables & watched their Professor. Remus & Peter sat between James & Sirius to prevent any more feuding.

"Any questions?" asked Professor Rohan Shepherd.

Remus held up his hand. He had been waiting for this class all day. "Are there really black Pegasuses pulling the Hogwarts carriages?" James smiled lightly as Sirius & Peter rolled their eyes in a 'Here-we-go-again!' manner.

"Why yes, actually," said Shepherd, making three of the boys gape & the fourth one smile importantly. "They're called Thestrals."

"How come my friends can't see them?" Remus glanced sideways with a 'Told-ya-so!' look.

Professor Shepherd became very solemn. "Mr. Lupin, have you seen death?"

"Er…death?"

"Only people who have seen death can see Thestrals," Shepherd went on. "They are the horses of the dead, which is why they appear as skeletal horses with little flesh draped over their bones. Thestrals are actually Dark creatures. You must have seen death if you are able to see them."

"Yeah, I did," Remus said quietly. He stayed quiet for the rest of class. Remus had actually seen two deaths. The first was a Lycan, though Remus never bothered to think of it again for it had been self-defense from a wild dog at the time the Lycan died. But his brother was another story. Remus often dreamt of that night. He could never get away from it & he had yet to tell anyone what really happened.

"What's the matter, Remy?" asked Peter as the four of them were walking back to the castle. Remus just shrugged. "Great, now we've got two pouting," Peter nodded back to Sirius who was trailing behind with a sour expression.

"I know. I wonder what's his problem?" James agreed.

James didn't find out for a few days. Sirius was avoiding him whenever possible. He had enough of James saying that she was the one. Remus finally decided to try talking to him.

"Ok Siri. Out with it?" Remus finally managed to confront Sirius alone in the common room.

"Out with what?" Sirius asked absentmindedly.

"What's with you & Jim?" Remus informed.

"Nothing," Sirius returned to his homework. Remus sat down in front of him & tossed a cracker onto the hearth for Nightstalker. "Look, I don't want to talk about it," Sirius added.

"Suit yourself," Remus leaned back in his chair, waiting.

"It's just," Sirius sighed before going on. "Jim's been my only friend I've ever known. Now, he hardly pays attention to me; always prattling on about the Evans girl."

"You're not used to sharing Jim with anyone," said Remus.

"Well...well yeah! I guess."

"That's being selfish," Remus scolded.

"Well, sorry if the only friend I've ever known is acting like a stag in the rutting season!" Sirius snapped.

"I'll put it this way," said Remus. "Think of Evans as one of us. You share Jim with me & Peter easily. So add on Evans. Now, I think you should go talk to Jim. _Bonne nuit."_ (Goodnight.")

"Hmpf!" Sirius grumbled as Remus left for the dorm. James soon took his place in the armchair beside Sirius. "What do you want?"

"To find out what's wrong with you," James declared.

"Sorry, I'm just a little left out," Sirius shrugged.

"Ah, Lily Evans," James sighed.

"That's right; Lily Evans!" Sirius snapped. "It's always about her & she doesn't even speak to you."

"I'm telling you Siri, she's the one," James said excitedly. "I'm going to marry that girl."

"Whatever."

"Besides," James went on. "I'm only taking care of our promise. How can you be a Godfather if I don't have any kids?"

"Aw Jim," Sirius tried to scowl but ended up laughing. "I guess you're right. Fair enough, but from now on, please try not to talk my ears off about that girl. I've had enough of 'Lily Evans this!' & 'Lily Evans that!' to last me a month."

"Sounds good. Friends again?" James held out his hand & Sirius shook it. The next couple of days passed without incident & hardly anything about Lily Evans.

It was Transfigurations with Professor Dumbledore a few weeks later. Remus recognized the old man from when he had visited his house in France. Dumbledore detained Remus after class & when everyone was gone, Dumbledore explained to him about the Whomping Willow that had been planted that summer. It stood over a secret entrance that led into the old shack in Hogsmeade Village. The shack had been placed under an unbreakable charm so it wouldn't be torn apart. It also had special locks on the door so no one could enter to find themselves looking at a werewolf from the inside out. Professor Dumbledore led Remus to the tree & told him that the doctor, Charles Cross, or his nurse, a young lady named Poppy Pomfrey would be there the moment the sun rose.

James woke up the next morning to Peter bouncing on his bed.

"Remus is gone," Peter said once James was awake.

"What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"He didn't come in last night & he's still not here," Sirius explained. James looked over to Remus's bed & noticed it hadn't even been slept in last night. "Something must have happened to him," Sirius added. "I'll bet it was that Severus git from Slytherin."

"Let's find out," James hurried to get dressed & bounded down the stairs with Peter & Sirius close behind


	6. Glitched Scania

**(6) Glitched Scania**

Severus Snape, a first year Slytherin, was on his way to the library to meet Lucius Malfoy, another Slytherin one year older as they were planning on entering the Great Hall together. However, three Gryfindor boys, one of whom was a distant relative, blocked his way.

"All right, Snivelus," Sirius crossed his arms & glared darkly from under thick black bangs falling over his eyes. "Where is he?"

"Where's who, cousin?" Severus half-sighed, half-snapped.

"You bring Remus back or I'll hex you out of the universe!" Sirius threatened pulling out his wand. Peter & James did the same. This wasn't the first time they've threatened the Slytherin boy with hair as black as Sirius though thinner. James, Peter & especially Sirius took pride in pranking Severus whenever they could. Remus, being the quiet one, tried to avoid such confrontations whenever possible, preferring to watch on the side. His passive attitude made him an easy target.

"Hmm, don't know, don't care. How's that?" Severus taunted, pulling out his own wand but Peter was to fast for him.

"_Alarte Asendia_!" Peter sent Severus flying straight up into the air. Severus came crashing down flat on his face & didn't move for a while as he was somewhat stunned by slamming the floor so hard. "That's better." Peter lowered his wand.

"Now," James growled. "Tell us where Remus is & we'll hex you to infinity & beyond."

Peter leaned close to James's ear & whispered, "Or not &."

"Ohh!" James groaned. "Tell us where Remus is or we'll hex you to infinity & beyond."

"Well, which is it?" Severus pulled himself up. "That seems like a pretty crucial conjunction?"

"I like 'and' best," Sirius snickered. Unfortunately for Severus, Peter & James agreed with Sirius.

"Look you guys," Severus held his wand out. "I haven't seen Remus since yesterday afternoon. Perhaps he finally got sense into him & is avoiding you! Now, if you three don't mind, I have to get into that library. Lucius is waiting for me."

"Let him wait," Sirius began but was cut off by a hand on his shoulder.

"Now, now Sirius," Lucius drawled. "Such behavior is unacceptable to a Black who is supposed to be in Slytherin. Here, this is for you," He handed Sirius a letter. "Apparently, your mother is having problems reaching you so I assured her you'd get this letter. Good day, cousin."

Sirius watched the two of them leave, clenching the letter in his hands. "I can't believe I'm somehow related to those two & Bellatrix & Narcissa on top of it!"

"What's the letter?" asked James.

"Just another note from Mom," Sirius shrugged. "I've been throwing them in the fireplace after the third one. She wants me to retake the Sorting test & get into Slytherin."

"So she can hand you over to that new uprising of Dark wizards later," James finished off.

"Precisely," Sirius answered. "Some guy named Vol—Voldemort or something like that. No one knows who he is. He could be one of our Professors for all we know!"

"Is there anyone in your family that you do like?" asked Peter.

"Only my cousin Andromeda," said Sirius. "She doesn't want to join the Dark Force either even though she's in Slytherin. Fifth year."

"Don't worry," said James. "These Dark Wizard uprisings only last a few months. They all end up in Azkaban. Who's going to remember Lord Voldemort come summer, right?"

"I suppose you're right," Sirius laughed. "Well, we still have a problem of what happened to Remus. Let's get going."

Remus was actually in the hospital wing by now. He had just awakened & could only remember bits & pieces of last night.

Dr. Cross & Nurse Pomfrey were fussing over him, taking care of the wounds the wolf had inflicted on Remus. Poppy Pomfrey sat down on the bed beside Remus & handed him a chocolate bar. "Feeling better?"

"Tired," Remus answered. "& sore."

Pomfrey handed him a glass of odd-smelling potion. "Drink that & go to sleep," she ordered as she left him with his chocolate.

"Ohh!" Sirius screamed, throwing his hands in the air. "We've been going around in circles. That's the last time we're taking directions from a Poltergeist!"

"Stupid Peeves!" James screamed down the hall at the mischievous ghost bobbing up & down on a lantern hanging from the wall.

"Jimmy, Petee & Siri three," Peeves sang out. "Keep on falling for pranks from me. Weee hehe!" Peeves swung around the lantern's bar attaching it to the wall.

"I'm glad he's dead 'cause I'm ready to kill him." Peter snarled. "And don't call me Petee."

"Are we ever going to get out of here?" Sirius half-asked, half-grumbled.

They were trapped in a closed hall that looked like it was part of the old dungeons under the castle. It was dusty & full of cobwebs & the only light came from the old black lanterns that automatically lit up when someone passed. How they had gotten in here, none were quite sure. One moment a door was there & the next it was gone.

"Get out quick! Here's a trick. Tap a brick," Peeves continued singing.

"Go away!" Peter ordered.

"Brick, huh?" Sirius grumbled. "In like: one brick short of a load. What you got there, Jim?"

James was standing in the middle of the hall, staring at a blank piece of parchment. It was rather large once unfolded. On it were a few lines. "I've been drawing the place since we first met up with that Poltergeist!"

"James," Sirius scolded. "This is no time for art class. Or maybe you didn't notice? We are Lost!"

"Calm down, Siri," James ordered. "It's not artistic. I've just been tracing the paths we made. I scan the area with my wand & add it to the map. Now, I think if we follow this line, we can get out."

"Hmm, what are those dots?" asked Peter as his eyes skimmed over the map.

"Well, I'm not sure," James shrugged. "My _Scania_ spell added them. Must be a glitch. Just ignor them."

Sirius snatched the map & began walking as he stared at it. "It's us."

"What do you mean?" asked James.

"I'm moving & so is one of the dots," Sirius explained. "Peter, move to the left." Peter did so & Sirius watched in amazement as one of the four dots moved to the left. The three of them crowded together to watch the dots on the map. The fourth dot moved toward their three dots as Peeves's cackling grew louder, still singing out about tapping a brick.

"Ooo!" James, Peter & Sirius cooed excitedly.

"Sirius, say your full name," James pointed his wand at Sirius. "_Scania_."

"Er...Sirius Orion Black?"

James then pointed his wand to the map & a gold beam of light rained down in sparkles onto the map. One of the three dots suddenly became labeled with the name. Sirius walked away & the dot labeled 'Sirius Orion Black' left the group on the map.

"Some glitch, Jim!" Peter exclaimed.

James added two more names, 'James Potter' & 'Peter Pettigrew.' the fourth dot turned out to be the Poltergeist, Peeves & after getting him to sing, using his own name, he was labeled on the map.

"Jim, let's do the whole castle!" Peter suddenly squealed in delight.

"Are you crazy?" James stared. "This piece of parchment isn't nearly big enough."

"So we'll add to it," Peter shrugged. "Let's all get a piece & do different sections of the castle & then put it together. I can also do some Origami, maybe make this a 3-D map."

"Jim, do you know what we could do?" Sirius jumped in. "During classes, we'll keep that Scania spell turned on & get everyone's names. Once completed, we could hex whoever with whatever whenever we want wherever they are!"

"Cool," Peter chimed in. "We'd be like...like...what would be a good word to describe it?"

"Like Marauders?" James suggested, grinning evilly.

"Yay!" Sirius & Peter squealed at once.

"I don't know," James frowned. "That's a lot of work." He waited a moment as his friends made pleading faces. Peter put his hands together, praying & Sirius got down on his knees & begged like a dog, making big sad puppy-dog eyes that no one could resist. James grinned again. "Let's do it!"

Sirius & Peter clapped each other's hand in a high-five. "Let's create the Marauder's Map!"

"First things first." James cut in. "Let's find a way out of here."

They followed the lines on the Marauder's Map back to a wall made with bricks. Some of the bricks were darker then others & the whole wall was separated from the others by a large stone beam. Peeves began singing his 'Tap a brick!' song even louder. Then Sirius figured out that certain bricks would maybe reveal a door if they were pushed.

"Ooo, they got it. They got it!" Peeves sang & hummed along. Peter rolled his eyes.

"Hit the wrong brick & troubles abound," Peeves went on. "You'll fall right through the castle's ground."

"Nice," Peter grumbled, leaning on a brick. A trap door opened in the floor. Sirius almost fell in but managed to stumble forward. He glared reprovingly at Peter.

"_Lumos_," James ordered & held his wand down into the door. The dim light revealed a darkened swampland. To the right, were some old stone stairs leading back up on the other side, possibly towards some other door to get back in.

"_Scania_," Sirius ordered & added everything to the map. The door closed itself after a minute & Sirius attacked another brick. This one opened the real door to get back in the main halls & the three boys headed out but not before marking that brick with a tiny red x in the top left-hand corner of it & adding a marker to the map.

"Let's call that place the Marauder's Hall," Peter suggested. "That's we're we started the map & everything."

"Good idea," James labeled the area on the map.

The next few hours were spent discreetly adding named dots to the map during their classes. Remus was yet to be seen & the three Marauders had to leave off finding him when Professor Snape, Severus's father, had caught them wandering the halls when they were supposed to be in class.

Sirius, Peter & James agreed that it would be best to get all the important people on the map first, especially the castle caretaker, Mr. Argus Filch. He was a nasty fellow who would get them into trouble whenever possible.

The boys returned to the common room later that evening after mapping the dungeon floors & getting the names of most of the Professors on the map. Dejectedly they slid into armchairs. Making this map was a bigger job then they had imagined. James shoved the parchment away into his pocket & sighed.

"What's wrong, Jim?"

"Remus! Where have you been?" James, Peter & Sirius shrieked at the same time as Remus appeared at the bottom of the stairs to the Gryfindor boys' dorm.

"Whatever do you mean?" Remus smiled sweetly as if nothing was wrong.

"We were searching for you everywhere," Peter said. "We thought something bad happened to you."

"I'm fine," Remus assured. "Really I am. I was just in the library. Perhaps we just missed each other all day? But I'm fine!"

"Very well, Remus," James sighed. "Just don't scare us like that again. I'm going to bed now, g'night."


	7. Flying Treats & Marauder Tricks

**(7) Flying Treats & Marauder Tricks**

It was a hot humid day of Indian Summer when the first flying lesson began for the first years. Flying lessons always started about a week before Hogwarts' Quidditch season. Gryfindors were lined up on the left & Slytherins on the right. Sirius & Severus made it a point to stand in front of each other, both eying one another warily. Veronica Lodge strode between the two lines of students with brooms lying at their feet & showed them how to summon their brooms off the ground to their hands.

James got his right away while Peter had to try three times. Remus didn't even have a chance to say 'Up!' for the broom flew to his hand the moment he reached out for it. James stared at him in disbelief. Sirius, however just couldn't get it.

"Up!" Sirius retorted, kicking his broom. "Get up you useless piece of junk!" James, Peter & Remus began snickering making Sirius glower with rage. "Up up up! Merlin sakes. Up!"

"I don't think Madam Lodge meant that type of feeling," James laughed.

Sirius glared at him. "Shut up Ji—" Something suddenly landed in his hand but it was a long snake instead of a broom. He could hear Severus snickering in front of him.

"Mr. Snape," Madam Lodge marched to him. "Explain yourself?"

"Just letting Mr. Black know he's in the wrong House," Severus said.

"The Sorting Hat never makes mistakes, Mr. Snape," Madam Lodge said. "Undo that hex this instant!"

"Yes ma'am," Severus gulped & Sirius soon found himself holding the broom.

"Now," Madam Lodge returned to her former position. "each of you mount your brooms & kick off from the ground. Hover for a moment & then touch down again." She blew a whistle & most of the students rose in the air.

Frank Longbottom, a Gryfindor, remained on the ground. He tried kicking off but his broom tipped forward & he ended up sitting on the ground. Madam Lodge helped him onto his broom & lifted him up a bit. The moment she let go, Frank landed on the ground again.

"Come on, Frank," said a Gryfindor girl. "It's easy!" She did a summersault with her broom.

"Thank you for that demonstration, Alice Jay," Madam Lodge half-smiled.

Frank rolled his eyes. "Girls are such show-offs," he muttered under breath.

"We're not show-offs," Lily sighed. "We just got it right before you did."

"Hush, Miss Evans," Madam Lodge ordered as James actually fell off his broom. He landed with a soft thud & gazed up at Lily, though she ignored him. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Potter, are you alright?" asked Madam Lodge.

"Mhm," James sighed dreamily. Alice smirked at Lily, making her groan.

"Very well," said Madam Lodge. "We will practice getting off the ground for today & tomorrow we will begin to actually move in the air."

The rest of the hour was spent learning how to get off the ground & flying small circles around each other. Frank finally got the hang of it & actually went up a bit higher then the others. He hovered above everyone for a moment, pushing back his brown hair in the wind before finally landing beside James & Peter.

By the end of the week, everyone was flying smoothly & Veronica Lodge allowed them a half hour of free flying. James & Sirius glanced at each other & snickered. They were waiting to be on their own for a while. James flew away after Severus & flanked his left side while Sirius appeared on the right. The three of them flew shoulder to shoulder, picking up speed. Sirius & James suddenly pulled up at the same time, taking Severus with them & then broke away from either side causing Severus to lose control. He went flying into the ground. Peter laughed as James & Sirius flew toward each other to clap against each other's hand. Remus hovered above the scene & tutted, not quite pleased about his friends' constant picking on Slytherin, particularly Severus & sometimes Severus's best friend Lucius Malfoy. James streaked away & followed Lily around at an annoying close range.

"What's your problem, Potter?" she suddenly snapped.

"Just keeping an eye on my beloved flower," James winked. Lily scowled & flew into him full throttle. James went spinning out of control & spiraled to the ground. He lay on his back & smiled up at Lily, not caring that he was on the receiving end of her fiery temper.

"Honestly, Potter," Lily groaned. "I don't need anyone keeping an eye on me. Least of all you!" With that, she flew away in disgust.

Peter landed beside James & hopped off his broom. "What's with that girl?"

"She loves me," James dreamed.

"She's very independent, if you ask me," said Sirius.

"Well, I didn't ask you, did I?" James snapped. "I'm going to marry that girl & have kids & a son. Hmm, what would be a good boy's name? John? Jerry? Clark?"

"How'bout 'Numbskull'," Remus offered, making Peter & Sirius snicker & James scowl.

"Jim, if you don't deflate that fat head of yours," Sirius warned. "you'll never win that girl over."

"I will too!" James jumped up & grabbed his broom. "You wait & see."

The four of them clamored into Gryfindor stands at the Quidditch Pitch on Sunday afternoon. Today was Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff. James watched with particular interest & said that maybe he'd try for the house team next year. First years were rarely allowed to try for the teams unless they showed special talents but that hasn't happened for almost a century. James spotted a couple seats next to Lily but just as he went to grab Sirius and drag him into them, Arthur Weasley and his girlfriend, Molly Prewett, took them as they were the last seats in the Gryfindor grandstand.

The players zipped back & forth with the Quaffle. One bludger almost hit Lily & her two best friends, Alice & Amanda but Arthur put his book up & the bludger bounced off into the game while Arthur's attention went back on Molly. Both Arthur and Molly were in their final year and also had bright red hair, a lot like Lily's. Molly smiled broadly and gave him a kiss on his cheek before Arthur grabbed her chin and the two of them quickly forgot about the game.

The Golden Snitch appeared in front of James for a moment, who quickly glanced around before snatching it! Sirius, Peter & Remus tried not to smile at their messy-haired friend's boldness. They glanced around guiltily.

"Jim," Sirius hissed under breath. "Put that thing back in the air. Now!"

"In a minute," James said, getting up & stepping down two rows. "Hey Lily, how long do you want the game to go on?"

"Well, now that you're here," Lily sighed. "I want it to finish like yesterday."

"Really?" James's face fell. "You sure you don't want me to sit with you a while? This game could go on forever, you know."

"Positive," Lily stated & turned away to Alice.

James hurried back to his seat & threw the Snitch away furiously. It landed in front of Reginald Lane, a fifth year Ravenclaw & Seeker for his House Team. Snitch & Ravenclaw Seeker sped away into the game as Sirius let out a relieved sigh.

"She turned you down again?" Peter asked rhetorically. James slid down into his chair scowling.

"Fat ego, Jim," Sirius teased. "Fat ego."

Reginald Lane caught the Snitch, making Ravenclaw win. Everyone got up cheering & congratulating the Ravenclaw House. Sirius glanced over at the Ravenclaw stands & waved. A group of Ravenclaw girls giggled.

"He's a cute Gryf," said a silvery blonde girl to her friends.

"All Blacks are known for how gorgeous they are," said another girl.

"Not to mention how self-conscious they are of it!" A Ravenclaw boy half-snapped in warning.

"I can't believe you took that Snitch, Jim," Peter remarked.

"Wicked!" Remus agreed.

"Good thing no one else saw you," said Sirius.

"I guess I'll be a Seeker next year," said James. "Who's that girl?"

"What girl?" Sirius didn't have a clue what James was talking about.

"That girl in the Ravenclaw stands," James explained.

"There were a whole gang of them, Jim," Sirius deflated. "I was only congratulating them on the House winning the game.

The next few weeks were spent working at their classes & filling out homework. Remus didn't disappear again & the first disappearance was forgotten. Halloween was just around the corner & the four of them lined up one day staring out the window, watching third year students gather outside to go to Hogsmeade.

"I've been in Hogsmeade last summer," said James. "Mom took me there once when she went shopping. It's a real cool place. There's an old shack there that looks real spooky." Remus froze.

"I heard about that shack," Sirius said. "It's called the Shrieking Shack."

"Right," James didn't believe him.

"I heard about that too," Peter added. "Apparently it got haunted by demon ghosts last month. I heard people saying that one night, the Shack was filled with shrieks as something haunted it; hence the name, Shrieking Shack."

Sirius agreed. "First time it happened. Usually the shack was empty. I wonder where the ghosts came from?"

"I don't know," said Peter. "But some say it's more haunted then Hogwarts & the only bad ghosts Hogwarts has is Peeves & the Bloody Baron. But the shack's ghosts make a lot of noise. Wonder what angers them?"

"No idea," Sirius shrugged.

Remus shied away even more. He knew exactly what they were talking about. Did everyone really think there were ghosts? Well better that then the truth, for really, it wasn't ghosts that haunted the place, it was a werewolf. The shrieks came from the brutal transformations when the Full Moon rose & set.

As everyone else from third year & up went on their Hogsmeade visit, the first years got together in little groups of friends & played pranks on each other. Of course, James, Peter & Sirius stalked down to the Slytherin dungeons with Remus in tow & waited, wands at the ready.

Severus & Lucius soon appeared. Severus was dressed in a smart green uniform with a Golden Snitch & two bats crossing each other embroidered on the back, with the label of his favorite Quidditch Team written across the back. Lucius made a good-looking Dracula with his long blond hair pulled smoothly back into a ponytail. By the time they got to the Great Hall, Severus was wearing a green tu-tu & Lucius a white with red polka dots clown suit, complete with a big red nose. Both were furious but the charmed clothes wouldn't come off for a while.

James, Sirius, Peter & for once, Remus were roaring their heads off, as they ran into the Great Hall. James was a cowboy, Remus a ghost, Peter a devil with a pitchfork & Sirius a sheriff to go with James's outfit; though, apparently he wasn't holding the muggle thing called a gun, properly. Remus showed him again for the umpteenth time.

The Great Hall was filled with floating Jack-O-Lanterns & plenty of sweets crowded the table. Remus pounced on anything chocolate & downed a tall glass of chocolate milk before filling his plate with chocolate cake & little ghost-shaped chocolates. Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost whose head could almost come off, floated through the Gryfindor table, trying to spook unsuspecting first years by tipping his head sideways.

Everyone went to bed late Halloween night, feeling a little too full of sweets. It wasn't until at least two days later that the effects wore off.

James got up & stretched. He woke Sirius & Peter & ignored their protests of being too early & then jumped fair & square on Remus or what he thought would be Remus.

The bed was empty & unused yet again.


	8. Marauders Forever

**(8) Marauders Forever**

"Now where'd he go?" James snapped to no one in particular.

"Library," Sirius & Peter said at the same time.

The three boys scrambled to get dressed & hurried down to the library in record time. James yanked the door open but Sirius & Peter slammed into him making the door snap shut. He glared evilly at his two friends before attempting to get in the door. Remus was nowhere in sight so they hurried as quietly as possible to Mr. Roberts at the desk.

"Is Remus here?" asked James.

"No," said Mr. Roberts. "I haven't seen him in a while."

"He didn't come in to Gryfindor Tower last night," said Peter. "He's disappeared."

"I can assure you Mr. Lupin is somewhere in the castle," said Mr. Roberts. "Perhaps at breakfast where you two ought to be?"

"Right, sir," James said glumly.

"Sorry, sir," Sirius led the other two out the door. "Something tells me he's not in the Great Hall," he said once they were out of the library.

"Come on," said James. "Let's just go look. He could be there."

James, Sirius & Peter picked away at their plates during breakfast, wondering where their elusive friend had gone off to, for Remus was not in the Great Hall after all. He was not seen again until the very last class of the day, Charms, & he appeared late by almost 15 minutes.

The class was practicing the Impedimenta hex, which would cause someone to move in slow motion. Chad Edmonds, another 1st Year student, had just been hit by it from Frank Longbottom & he began running slowly like in a movie. Remus stepped aside & let him go by. He looked rather tired but he didn't want to miss any more classes then he had to, despite the doctor's protests of leaving too early. James, Sirius & Peter surrounded Remus in an instant, demanding to know why he disappeared again.

"I wasn't feeling well," Remus shrugged. "I just got a potion from the hospital wing." _Si seulement ils savaient. C'est certain qu'ils voudraient me tuer, ou du moins me renier. _(_If they only knew. They'd kill me, or at least, disown me.)_ The other three decided to accept that, for now, & pulled Remus further into the class room. "So, what is the Charm today?"

Sirius pointed his wand at Remus & smiled mischievously. "It's the…_Impedio_…charm."

"Niiiicce!" Remus drew out the word & dragged his arms to cross in front of his chest. It only took him a while to get into the aggressive posture he wanted.

Sirius cackled evilly, sounding somewhat like a barking dog. He noticed Peter & James staring reprovingly at him. "What?" He deflated. "Aww come on. It was funny! Besides, he looks real tired so I just thought he should, you know, take it slow?" Peter gave up with a shake of his head as James cast a releasing charm on Remus to bring him back to normal speed.

The evening was spent doing homework as Nightstalker hooted sleepily in the fire. James had a Dada essay to write on the difference between Dark & Light Sorcery & was scratching away furiously with his quill at the parchment. James always researched & rewrote everything at least three times. Peter was supposed to be finishing off an Ancient Runes lesson. He was propped up on the floor, leaning against the side of the couch with his knees almost up to his chest & his books spread open on his legs but he was reading something other then his Runes schoolbook. It was a library book he had gotten earlier that day during the lunch hour. Remus was always studying, worse then James & he would always do all his homework first before even batting a long brown eyelash in another direction. James often told him that he'd end up either cross-eyed or a Professor, or both. Sirius was, well Sirius of course! Study? He hardly knew the meaning of the word. Sirius believed in the cramming method. Why waste all the free time getting a headache when he could play games like Exploding Snaps or Wizarding Chess?

He had beaten a boy 2 years ahead of him twice (& lost to him five times!) & now was picking on Frank. Frank, however, destroyed all but one of Sirius's pawns & all other pieces except one Knight. Sirius was checkmated in two more moves. _Maybe homework was a good idea after all? Nah._

Remus went to bed early, saying he didn't plan on missing any more lessons. James checked to see if Remus really was in bed before going to sleep himself. So did Sirius. Peter did the same thing as well when he went to bed. He was the last one up, having finished the whole library book. He pulled back the curtain around Remus's bed to make sure he was there, inadvertently letting in a little moonlight. Remus moaned in his sleep & recoiled under the covers as Peter let the curtain fall back in place.

From that night on, the three Marauders stayed closer than ever to Remus, keeping an eye on him. Sometimes, Remus would catch them near his bed but they would make up a hurried excuse such as being half-asleep & not knowing where the heck their own bed was. At first, Remus believed them & thought it rather amusing but as another Full Moon came closer, the one before Christmas, he was beginning to get worried as to how he'd get away from his ever- & over-watchful friends.

The day of Full Moon brought in a large blizzard & three feet of snow. As evening came on, the snow slowed to a few lazy flakes in the dimming sky. James, Peter & Sirius were sitting together on the couch, leaning against each other for support as Remus curled up in the armchair, devising a plan to get away without getting caught. It wouldn't be easy for the other three had learned to anticipate his every move, his very next breath even. H knew he had to come up with something quick for the Full Moon was fourty-five minutes away & he could already feel the change beginning. His blood ran hotter & his vision was becoming less controllable, slowly turning everything to an amber tint. Remus checked on his three friends. They seemed to be half-asleep & unaware of him. _Enfin! (Finally!) _He got up & turned away to the door of the common room.

"Where're you going?" asked James.

_Merlin interdire! (Merlin forbid!) _Remus took a moment to control his ever-increasing inhuman temper. He turned slowly, avoiding eye contact as much as possible. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Just asking," James mumbled, resting his head in Peter's lap. Remus inched away closer to the door. "Where you going?"

Remus growled low, very low & turned back to his friend. "I forgot to return a book to the library. It's due back today."

James only nodded, eying Remus. "So where's the book?"

"Wha—" Remus stared at his hands. "Um, right! I'll...just...go get it...now." Remus smiled meekly & hurried up the dorm stairs to grab a book, any book, & fled back down for the door. He was running out of time.

"You're Astrology book belongs to the library?" asked Sirius as he stood up & raised an eyebrow.

"Wha—Ahh nuts!" Remus half-laughed. "I'm an idiot at times. Please excuse me!" _Ah, ma foi - ils sont tous __morts! Je vais changer bientôt. Sirius, ce qu'il peut être stupide; lui, et sa grande gueule.__ (That's it! They're all dead. I'm going to change soon! Stupid Sirius & his big fat mouth.)_ Remus ran partly up the stairs & turned the book around to hide the title before jumping back down again.

"Hurry back," James ordered. "We don't want Filch locking you up in the dungeons."

Remus just shrugged. _Parfait! Maintenant ils vont m'attendre__? Comment m'en sortir?_ (_Great! Now they'll be waiting up for me. How'll I ever get out of this one?) _"Actually guys, I'll see you tomorrow. I've got a big headache & I'll probably stay at the hospital wing."

"I'll go with you then," Sirius stepped forward.

"_Non!"_ ("No!") Remus yelped much too quickly. "Er...I mean…it's not necessary."

"It's no problem," Sirius headed for the door but Remus pulled him back.

"I said no, Ok?" Remus half-growled as his vision slowly blazed amber. He turned away quickly before Sirius could see the eye-color change. "I'm fine. Just stay here."

"Fine," Sirius groaned, flopping down in the armchair. "You don't have to get snappy about it."

"Sorry," Remus grumbled only half meaning it. "Just my headache I guess. Goodnight!" At last, he was out the door, then began to run as he had never run before. He barely made it to the hospital wing in time & from there to the Whomping Willow tree & the Shack in Hogsmeade.

James, Peter & Sirius sat in silence for several minutes. Sirius suddenly asked, "Do you believe him?" James just shrugged & stared at Nightstalker sleeping in the dim fire.

"Not for a second," Peter sat up straight.

"Neither do I," Sirius agreed. "I wonder, maybe he comes from a Dark Wizarding family."

"Possibly," said James.

"Or worse," Peter said.

"Worse?" asked James & Sirius at the same time.

"What could possibly be worse?" Sirius went on. "A Dark Wizard family is the worst."

"But what if he is a Dark Creature," Peter said without a questioning voice.

"Huh?"

"I've noticed things, Siri," Peter went on. "He disappears regularly. I've heard him make sounds a lot like a dog; & did you see his eyes tonight? They were yellow; or rather, they were turning yellow. Human eyes don't do that, & those scars on his face. They look like-I don't know, like..." Peter made a clawing motion in the air with his hands.

"Like claw marks?" Sirius asked & Peter nodded.

"But Remus told me he got them from tripping over & hitting gravel," James said.

"Did he say what he tripped on?" asked Peter. When he received blank stares, he continued. "Exactly. Who knows what caused him to trip up but I've got a pretty good idea. I was reading a library book a couple weeks ago. It's how to recognize Dark creatures such as…hmm, I don't know!…Werewolves?"

"Are you saying you think Remus is a—a—a werewolf?" Sirius laughed. "Right. Are you feeling well?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Peter snapped.

"But Remus—a werewolf. My dad hunts those creatures," Sirius said. "He can't be a werewolf. What makes you think that?"

"Tonight's a Full Moon, Sirius," Peter informed.

"No way," James gasped. "A monster such as a werewolf would never be allowed in the school. What do they think they're doing? Letting a thing like that in here! Are they trying to kill us?"

"You sound like you're convinced," Sirius snapped.

"What if the Professors don't know?" Peter suggested.

"Peter," James snapped. "it's ridiculous! Remus can not be a werewolf! Could he?"

"Anyone can get bitten," Sirius shrugged.

"Now who's the one sounding convinced?" James glowered.

"Look, I've got an idea," Peter jumped in before James or Sirius could pull out their wands & hex each other. Peter pulled out three small calendars & handed over two of them. "Maybe it's just a coincidence this time that a Full moon is up or maybe just maybe, I'm right. Now, from now on, whenever he disappears, we'll mark the date on that. We'll also keep a closer eye on him & take note of anything odd he does."

"You mean wolf-like," Sirius sighed.

"Possibly," Peter shrugged. "I hope I'm wrong about this but if he is what I think he is, we need to know for our own safety & everyone else's. If he isn't, well no harm done & who'll know we acted like gits?"

"Good point," James agreed. "I'm in. Sirius?"

"You'd better be wrong, Peter," Sirius snapped. "Fine, I'm in."

"Let's meet at the end of the school year," said James. "& we'll check all our calendars."

"Good idea," Peter agreed. "We should meet regularly & compare anything odd we notice about him."

"Well, let's begin," said James. "I for one, have noticed that he never actually shows teeth when he smiles."

"Good start," Peter acknowledged. "If he's hiding fangs...?"

"I notice he's never in the showers with us," Sirius went on. "More scars to hide?"

"I notice he eats lots of meat," James added. "What?" he asked as he noticed questioning glances. "He told me his family's vegetarian. But if he's a wolf then—"

"It is a bit of a stretch," Sirius said. "But let's keep it in mind."

James fiddled with his glasses annoyingly. "Whatever."

"And remember," Peter finished. "Don't find yourself alone with him until we know for sure. Just in case he'll try to... eat you... or something."

"Or something," James echoed.

"He can't be a werewolf," Sirius groaned. "Remus wouldn't eat us. Would he?"

"I don't know, Sirius," Peter said. "I just don't know."

"Sirius, we can't do this if we're not together," James said as he put out his hand. Peter put a hand over his. "Come on, Siri! Marauders forever?"

Sirius placed his hand over theirs, though somewhat hesitantly. "Forever & always!"


	9. Christmas Presents & New Years Pranks

**(9) Christmas Presents New Year's Pranks**

The holidays began the day after Full Moon. James, Peter & Sirius were staying at Hogwarts for Christmas so they could keep a close watch on Remus as well as plan their next prank on their favorite Slytheryn. James sent a school owl to Honeydukes, ordering a box of chocolates for Lily Evans, despite Sirius's nagging that she'll never accept it.

The three of them were currently in the Common Room, discussing on how to "decorate" the Slytheryn Common Room & somehow set the blame on Severus & Lucius when Remus stepped through the portrait. He looked rather tired & was still carrying his Astrology book that he had left in the hospital wing.

"Finally realised your Astrology book does not belong to the library?" Sirius teased sarcastically as Remus began to head upstairs.

Remus rolled his eyes & stepped back down. "Be quiet, Black!"

"Ooo not very friendly, are you?" Sirius glared back.

"Why would I be," asked Remus. "If you keep bugging me? Now, I'm going up stairs to do my homework."

"Suit yourself," Peter waited for Remus to disappear before writing something down on a piece of parchment.

"What?" asked James, when he was done writing. Peter handed over the parchment for James, then Sirius, to read.

_Grouchy around Full Moon, most werewolves are after what they've been through._

"PMS" Sirius giggled. "Pre-'Moon'-Syndrome or in this case, 'Post'-Moon-Syndrome" James & Peter snickered at that.

Remus eventually returned to his quiet self as the days hurried like a snail to Christmas Eve. He didn't do anything else to cause the Marauders concern but they were waiting for next month, a few days after the first. The Marauders passed the time setting up their prank for New Year's Eve, trying to come up with an escape plan but no matter what scenario they played out, it always seemed as if they would get caught.

Finally, Sirius, Peter & Remus were rudely awakened by James bouncing on their beds. The four of them ran downstairs to a pile of presents under the Gryfindor's tree.

James pounced on a rather large package from his dad & pulled out some smooth feeling material. It was a cloak of some sort & when James tried it on, all but his head disappeared.

"Wow!" gasped Peter.

"That solves our problems for New Year's," said Sirius.

"Here, try yours," James put a hand out & grabbed a small package for Sirius.

Sirius opened it up & stared at his two reflections questionably. "Mirrors? Jim, what do I need mirrors for?"

"Funny," James snapped playfully. "I keep one of them & we can talk to each other, no matter where we are."

"Ah, like a telephone," said Remus, making the purebloods stare at him. "Never mind." He groaned, grabbing a small square package that could fit into his hand. In it was a round box of glass on three little legs of gold. The top opened to reveal a holographic picture of a golden haired fairy with dragonfly wings. She had a pale blue dress with a string of forget-me-nots over one shoulder & would sing _Fraere Jacques_ in a soft soprano voice.

"Wow!" James gasped. "Where'd you get that?"

"From my parents," answered Remus.

"Cool," said Sirius. "But what is it with the French & that song? It's really 'Brother Jack. Brother Ja—'"

"That's the English translation, you git!" James interrupted, making Sirius shut up & pout. "Ignor him. Want some chocolate?" (Did he even need to ask?)

"_Merci!_" ("Thank you!") said Remus, helping himself to a truffle. "What exactly does git mean, anyway?"

"It means he's an idiot," James explained. "Surely you'd know that?"

"Know what?" Remus said. "That Sirius is an idiot? Definitly."

"Thanks a lot," Sirius complained. "How come you don't know what 'git' means?"

"Never heard that word before," Remus shrugged. "It's probably a British thing 'cause I haven't heard it in France. He helped himself to another of James's chocolates. "I wonder if Lily liked yours."

James glanced over to a group of girls & watched Lily turn over the note a few times. "From a friend." he heard her read aloud.

"Don't eat them, Lily," Alice warned. "Might be poisoned."

James looked hurt as Sirius snickered. James got up strode over. "Did someone say 'poisoned'?"

"Just got some chocolates," Lily shrugged.

"I'll test them," James grabbed the smallest chocolate.

"No, that's not nessec—Potter," Lily groaned & watched helplessly as James gulped down the candy. "Thanks, I guess," she shrugged as nothing happened to James. _Why didn't I think of him in the first pla—Now what?_

James began choking sputtering sank to the floor in slow motion. "Lil-Lily," he croaked out a whisper. "I-I'm dying. Run! Sa-Save yourself."

"Honestly!" Lily grabbed a big chocolate shoved it into her mouth.

"He is such a loser," Amanda groaned & Alice agreed.

"Cute though," Alice added, making Lily glower.

James got up & hurried back to his friends. "They think I'm cute."

"They also called you a loser," Remus pointed out for his acute werewolf hearing had heard it.

"How would you know?" James grumbled, grabbing a licorice wand. Sirius glanced at Peter with an odd, knowing look. Remus had excellent hearing, like a dog. Peter opened his own presents & found a new quill & several different colors of ink for writing in colored letters.

Christmas Day passed without much incident. The only dampener was a letter Sirius got from his mother, saying that even though he was staying in Gryfindor, he must not defile the pure name of the Black family from which he came & should not associate with mudbloods. Sirius left off reading the last part in front of Remus, wondering if his mother somehow knew about him.

Those who had left for the holidays had come back the day before New Year's for classes would start a day later. New Year's Eve found three Marauders & a werewolf puppy lurking in the shadows of Slytherin's halls.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Sirius asked for the uncountable time.

"No, any more questions?" James snapped.

"Jim, just check the map already," Peter groaned.

Remus glanced over curiously as James opened the map but was soon distracted by Sirius. "All you need to do is stand guard, let us know when those snakes come back!" Sirius had a good reason for making Remus their look out. If he really was a werewolf, he'd be able to detect others sooner. Remus grumbled, not very approving of his friends' misdeeds but remembering the fun he had on Halloween, he decided to try it again.

James, Sirius & Peter ducked under the Invisibility Cloak & hurried to the portrait to Slytherin's Common Room. A second year Slytheryn girl came & gave the password to go in; the three Gryfindors followed. Remus hid behind a gargoyle outside with one of the mirrors. He was supposed to wait 15 minutes but 10 minutes later, he heard Severus & Lucius not too far away. Remus pulled out the mirror.

"Great," James groaned. "Run!"

"But we're not done," Sirius said.

"We'll be more then done if we get caught," James pointed out. "Now let's go!" Sirius waved his wand one last time before jumping out of the Portrait. They ran to Remus & James threw the cloak over the four of them. It barely fitted.

"Well, at least I got the note in," Sirius said, making the others shush him.

Severus & Lucius stepped inside & the first thing they saw was Bellatrix Black, seething. The second thing they saw was something similar to the Gryfindor Common Room. The third thing they saw was a note Bellatrix shoved in their faces.

_Well Bella, since you are related to a Gryfindor, perhaps you like a more Gryfin-like feeling to the Slytheryn Room? _

_Signed: Severus Snape_

"But I didn't do this!" Severus gasped.

"Quite right. He was with me the whole time," Lucius defended.

"So you're in it together?" Bellatrix snapped.

"Wha-? No, no-I-I-I—" Lucius stammered.

"You what?" Bellatrix demanded. "Thought it would be funny? _Crucio_!" Lucius fell to the floor screaming as Severus stepped back fearfully. Bellatrix may be only twelve years old but she knew plenty of Dark Arts, which she often taught to them in the most uncomfortable ways. "You're next, Snape!"

Meanwhile, four Gryfindor boys tumbled into their dorm & fell on their beds. Three of them were laughing hysterically while the fourth one seemed mildly amused. The latter was filled in on what they did to the Slytherin Common Room.

"I can't believe you made it look like ours," Remus laughed. " You got Severus in trouble?"

"Bella thinks it's him who did it," Sirius explained the note.

"You guys are unbelievable," Remus shook his head at them.

"Potter!" roared Severus the next day. "What did you do last night?"

"Played Wizard Chess with my friends, had five licorice wands, talked to Lily," James ticked off everything on his fingers, grinning evilly. _Pranked the Slytherins big time but I'm not going to tell you that!_

Severus blanked out for a moment, almost as if he heard what James was thinking but he shook it off. "You'll pay for this, Potter, & your little friends too, especially that," Severus glanced around to make sure no one was hearing, "that mudblood boy."

"Don't talk about Remus like that!" Sirius snapped.

"I'll talk about him however I wish," Severus replied. " As for you, you're really going to pay for this, Black."

"Aww Snivelus," Sirius pouted. "Don't be so mean to me, your own family?" Severus just made a face & stalked away. Despite the threats, nothing major happened for the next few days.

Except marking another date that also happened to be the Full Moon on the calendar.


	10. The JPS Marauders

**(10) The JPS Marauders**

For once, no one noticed Remus returning late the next day. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. James was curled up on one end of the couch with his homework while Peter lay sleeping on the other end. Meanwhile, Sirius was playing Exploding Snap with a couple of boys from second year.

With Christmas past, the winter began to get old, boring & dragged on forever. Snow stayed until early February & the four Gryfindor boys amused themselves as best possible by starting snowball fights with the Slytherins then would mysteriously disappear, leaving the Slytherins fighting among themselves. Once, James somehow managed to charm a snowman to follow Severus Snape everywhere. Sirius put an angry face on it & cast a manic laughing charm so the snowman would look & sound evil. It was all poor Severus could do to get away from it until the thing melted.

After a long wait, spring break finally arrived & everyone had a week off. Remus had gone home for that week for he had a Full Moon right in the middle of it & going home for the break was a good excuse. Frustrated, James, Peter & Sirius decided to just circle the whole week & shrugged it off as coincidence while they watched the third years & up leave for Hogsmeade Village, returning a few hours later with lots of Easter chocolates & treats from Honeydukes.

The last day of the week, James came up with a plan to make all the Slytherins late for classes no matter what they did. He had found a room that seemed to change to suit one's needs. On the map, it was labeled the 'Room Of Requirement.' James turned it into a common classroom to make their victims think they were waiting in class. Sirius & Peter set to work creating a few false walls by rearranging the Slytherin Hall leading to the Tower. They uncovered a secret passage that was hidden behind a tapestry & made it look like the hallway, sending all Slytherins in the wrong direction. They also left a short message for them.

James & Sirius sat in the real classroom, trying not to laugh, though a few short snickers could be heard. Peter showed up a few moments later & grinned at James & Sirius. Remus glanced at them half-questioningly, half-annoyingly while trying to concentrate on his books. He noticed the room was half empty, void of the Slytherin House, having a bad feeling his three friends were responsible for it! The other students moved from one class to another, quite happy that the Slytherins lost more & more points from frustrated teachers. Even Professor Snape took off a substantial amount. No one knew where the missing House was.

The Slytherins were, of course, sitting in the Room of Requirement, waiting for class to begin. After twenty minutes of waiting, Severus got up & headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" someone half whispered.

"To see what's taking so long," Severus groaned, clearly bored out of his mind.

"You're going to get us in trouble," another snapped. "You know we're supposed to be seated when a Professor comes in."

"I just want to see if anyone's coming yet," Severus explained as he attempted to open the door. It wouldn't budge for Peter had levitated a gargoyle statue over to sit in front of the door once everyone was inside. "Great! Now what?"

"I don't think we're in any classroom," said the girl who had first spoken.

"I can see that," Severus snapped. "Someone trapped us here."

"What was that writing on the wall?" she asked. "Compliments of the JPS Marauders or something like that?"

"I saw it but didn't pay attention," Severus admitted. "I thought it was just some dumb graffiti. Any idea who the JPS Marauders are?" He was answered with shrugs & blank stares.

James, Peter, Sirius & Remus stepped out of their last class of the day & headed for Gryfindor Tower.

"Wow!" James exclaimed. "I didn't expect them to miss all day, just maybe the first class or two."

"It was a great idea, Jim," Sirius laughed. "Now Slytherin is in last place. They have no hope for the House Cup this year."

"Who is in first place?" asked Peter.

"Hufflepuff," Remus answered. "but only by 50 points. Gryfindor is next, then Ravenclaw by 100 points. Slytherin is probably like beyond 200 points behind by now. But where are they? Surely they're not dumb enough to sit in one room all day?"

"It's nothing," Peter grinned, explaining about the statue making James & Sirius laugh ridiculously.

"It's not funny," Remus retorted. "Let's move that statue before they starve to death or something."

"Aww come on Remy," Sirius whined with a puppy-like attitude.

"You had your fun," Remus pointed out. "So move that thing & get away before they come out & see you."

"Fine," James gave up. The four of them hid behind another statue as the rather groggy Slytherins finally opened the door.

"As soon as I find out who the JPS Marauders are," Severus snarled. "I'm going to kill them! What time is—Oh no! We missed the whole day."

"The JPS Marauders?" Remus asked, staring accusingly at his friends. James, Sirius & Peter, however, looked just as confused as Remus.

"No idea," Sirius shrugged.

"I guess we're not the only ones on those snakes' cases," James added.

"Looks like we've got competition," Peter groaned. "Oh well, at least we don't get in trouble this time." James & Sirius agreed as they & Peter looked at Remus convincingly, hoping he wouldn't figure it out just yet. Remus just shrugged it off so the others relaxed for the moment. He had bigger problems to deal with; the upcoming exams plus one more Full Moon before summer vacation.


	11. Undecided

This is the last chapter for _**Darkness In Our Midst**._

Year 2: _**Rites Of Initiation**_ is in my bio & continues with the MWPP into their second year.

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**(11) Undecided**

Before anyone could notice, the exams had started. It was all the first year students could do to keep up. Sirius complained constantly that there was just too much work & he'll be old & senile by the time it was over. Gryfindor Prefect Shane Jones, finally lost it & told Sirius to be quiet, saying that he had it easy & should be thankful he wasn't doing OWL's or NEWT's. Sirius grumbled under his breath, glad that Prefects changed every other year or so as the fourth year students moved up to fifth and the final year students left.

Frustrated, the three Marauders & Remus bore down on their "best friends" the Slytherin House, preferably, Lucius Malfoy & Severus Snape. It was rather easy to prank both of them for they were always together. James had somehow found out that Lucius & Severus were copying off each other so he decided to teach them a lesson of his own not that he, Sirius & Peter were copying off each other. Remus stubbornly refused to show his homework, saying they wouldn't learn anything. Remus always got the best marks.

James sat behind Severus while Sirius took the desk beside him. Whenever Severus wrote something down on an extra piece of paper for Lucius to have later, Sirius would distract him by throwing balls of paper in his direction. As Severus hissed at Sirius under breath, James would wave his wand, making Severus's quill re-write everything in his work into nasty remarks about teachers, eventually sending Severus Snape into detention at the end of the day.

The Marauders pulled they're best; or worst, depending on the point of view, prank during breakfast one day in the Great Hall. It was actually Remus's idea to charm the hard boiled eggs on the Slytherin table to be filled with notes. He had no idea—though he should have—that his three friends would go so far as to turn the whole breakfast into in-edible material. Remus had figured out a way to cause whatever charm he added to his egg to be duplicated in all the Slytherin eggs. James, Peter & Sirius followed suit with everything else.

Lucius cracked open a hard boiled egg & found a pink paper note inside instead. He read under breath, "My my, what nice rainbow hair you have." Lucius gaped & stared at his best friend. "Severus, what color is my hair?"

"Err...blond?" Severus stammered. "The usual?"

Lucius scowled & stared at the note & noticed another line. "Ha ha, gotcha!" with a signature underneath; 'Compliments of the JPS Marauders!' "I will find out who these Marauders are & boy are they going to regret being born."

Severus shrugged & took some toast. It tasted like cardboard. It was cardboard. "What the—'Compliments of the JPS Marauders!'" The signature was etched into the bread. Severus's eyes wandered to the Gryfindor table but the four suspects seemed to be engrossed in some homework books they had brought along with them.

Bellatrix got her own egg & note & read to herself, "Bellatrix, you're the worst witch ever!" It too, was signed with the JPS Marauders' signature. "Sirius?"

"What?" Sirius mumbled through a mouthful of mashed potates.

"What is the meaning of this?" Bellatrix levitated the note to him.

"I 'unno," Sirius shrugged, crumpling it up & throwing it back to the Slytherin table where it landed on the floor.

"Are you one of those Marauders?" Bellatrix snapped.

"Nope," Sirius lied convincingly with those sad sweet puppy-dog eyes. "Never heard of them. But I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks so—highly—of you." Sirius returned to his plate without another word to her. "That was a little obvious, Jim. Don't send such blunt notes. Jim? Are you listen—you're not listening, as usual."

"Huh?" James suddenly snapped out of it but before Sirius could retort a female voice rang out.

"You're not that secretive, Potter," Lily said. "But thank you for the note." she added politely as she reluctantly handed it to Alice & Amanda's eager outstretched hands.

"From your secret admirer," Alice read. "I love your eyes & your wild red hair. You're the window to my soul & my greatest care."

"Aww," Amanda cooed, making Lily throw her toast at her. Remus snickered at James's rather stung look. Sirius was right; James was rather blunt.

The exams carried slowly on. Charms had to be passed by levitating a desk. It was rather difficult for the heavier the object was the more magical power was needed to lift it. Transfiguration involved turning their extra quill into an inkbottle. Remus got it first try while James needed three attempts. Sirius turned the quill into a cloth instead while Peter sneaked in a real inkbottle & shoved the quill away. The Dada class was the hardest to pass. They had to repel Brazilian Fire Pixies. About the same size as Cornish Pixies, Brazilian Fire Pixies left small flames wherever they landed. The Pixies could only be repelled with an _Aquis_ spell. It didn't kill them but wet Fire Pixies would be knocked out for several hours. James, Peter & Sirius managed the test though Remus was gone for the Full Moon; however, his friends didn't notice for they were too busy worrying about their exams & spent the time studying or sleeping. Remus slipped away & returned the next afternoon without any problems other than feeling exhausted & sore.

Finally, the last day arrived & the exams were over. The results would be sent to each student at home during the summer. Sirius packed slowly, not wanting to go back to his family for the summer. James reminded him that it was for only two months & then they'd be back at Hogwarts. It was Peter who walked in, calendar & some notes in hand, reminding them of their end-of-year meeting they had planned.

"Aww Pete," James whined. "We missed some months. We won't know for sure. Let's just try next year."

"Aww come on Jim," Sirius begged. "Let's see what we do have. It'll help."

"Remus is downstairs anyway," said Peter. "He's playing with Nightstalker, so we've got some time."

"Alright," James sighed, pushing stuff off his bed. The three of them grabbed their own calendars & piled onto it. It appeared that from December on, when they had first started to suspect Remus of being a werewolf, the dates of Full Moons were definitely circled. Spring break week had a Full Moon in the middle of it but after that, the calendars went blank, thanks to the exams. No one had noticed Remus disappearing though they thought he might have. It was now time to compare anything else they had noticed about Remus.

"I saw a couple of stray dogs following him around once," James said. "As if they were trying to make a pack. But Remus ignored them."

"I saw two more scars on his arm once when the sleeve of his robe fell back," said Sirius. "They looked like claw marks."

"I heard him growl at me once," said Peter. "It was when we were all watching the Slytherins after we spray-painted them. We were kinda close & he almost got, well, territorial."

"I don't know, Pete," James lay back into the pillows. "This whole werewolf thing just doesn't make sense. Maybe it's because we missed a few months."

"How do you explain the Full Moons we did circle?" Peter asked but James just shrugged. A long moment of silence passed as the three of them sat undecided of what to do next. Then Sirius decided to shock them.

"Let's invite him to join us," Sirius suddenly spoke up.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"Initiate him into the Marauders," Sirius explained, making James sit straight up.

"Excuse me?" James stared.

"Well face it, he's got some good ideas for pranks," Sirius explained. 'Now that he's started to enjoy it!" he added with a laugh. "Next year, we'll invite him. If he accepts, he has to go through a series of tests. We'll be able to keep a closer eye on him & if he is a werewolf, we will be like his pack."

"Taming a w—! Sorry," James lowered his voice. "Taming a werewolf? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes," said Sirius. "If he is one, of course."

"If he is one," Peter repeated. "But that would be impossible. You can't tame a werewolf. They're just too wild."

"People say that because they're scared of them," Sirius snapped. "We'd be the first to do it. We'd be famous. Great! Now I really hope he is a werewolf! Anyway, if he isn't, we still have one extra Marauder. I'm sure we can get him to join?"

James agreed. "But only if he passes all the tests; no misses. We'll owl each other over summer & come up with something."

"Sounds like a plan," Peter agreed.

"And if he is a werewolf, then at least we'd be his pack," Sirius went on. "I'd rather take care of Remus then do my family a favor."

"Alright then," James agreed. "Lets see if we can't make a Marauder out of Remus."

The conversation turned to other things as Remus appeared in the dormitory. Four trunks were slowly packed for the ride home next morning. The end-of-term feast passed with the usual loud chatter & last-minute goodbyes. There was one shocking moment when Molly Prewett started waving her hand around. Others soon realised she was showing off a grand gold ring with a small diamond on it. It was soon learned that Arthur Weasley had proposed to her the day before. Remus's sensitive hearing picked up Arthur telling his friends, "It was a graduation present."

The train ride to Kings Cross passed without incident, although Peter & Sirius managed to rig the Slytherin car with hidden wires making them trip all over the place. The tripped wires spilled water, paint colors & other goo on unsuspecting Slytherins so that by the time the all got off at the station, it was a sordid colorful mess tumbling out of the Slytherin train cars.

James said his last goodbyes as he hurried to his parents. He watched as Peter found his own parents & felt a little sorry for Sirius as he trudged behind his stern looking father, who was scolding him time & again about not getting into Slytherin House. James promised he'd meet Sirius later for they lived next to each other & beamed away with his parents by portkey. Remus left with his mother, who had come on her own so she could use a portkey as well, totally oblivious to the frequent owls over the summer between three mischievous boys planning his impending fate for the second year of Hogwarts.


End file.
